Not With Haste
by Twidmo
Summary: A hybrid raised by the Cullens finds her way in love and life everlasting. Starts pre-twilight.
1. Chapter 1

"Drinking alone?"

Ellie turned her head slightly, ready to roll her eyes at whatever line was coming next. Her eyes widened in surprise when saw the man standing on the other side of the empty barstool on her right. Though his eyes were dark, the red-rimmed irises caught her attention.

Her shoulders squared and she sat straighter as she studied him, instinctively looking for signs of a threat. Sensing none, she shrugged and cocked her head toward the open seat.

"I was."

He sat down, flashing a lopsided grin as he held out his hand. "I'm Christopher." He waited with his hand extended as she continued to eye him skeptically. "Oh come on then," he said, "I won't bite." He leaned in conspiratorially and winked. "Promise."

She couldn't tell whether he meant for her to get the joke, but it didn't matter; her steely expression broke. "Eleanor," she said, laughing in spite of herself and shaking his hand, "Eleanor Cullen."

The handshake lingered for a second longer, and he grinned again as he pulled his hand away. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Eleanor." He looked away from her long enough to wave the bartender over. "Tell me, what brings you to this shiesty little bar?"

She pondered her response, avoiding his eyes as he watched her wrinkle her nose and twist her mouth to the side. "First of all," she said, "Call me Ellie. No one calls me Eleanor unless I'm in trouble."

He laughed and nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"Umm..." She played with the cocktail napkin that appeared in front of her as he ordered two pints from the bartender. "I'm on my way home and decided to pass through the city first."

She didn't say where she'd been or how long she'd been away, but he nodded like he understood anyway. "Stalling?"

She laughed again, nodding, "Maybe a little. I left town a few months back and haven't seen my family in a while…" She paused as the drinks were set down in front of them, and she stared into her glass. When she didn't continue, Christopher reached out and gently placed his fingers on her chin, urging her to look back at him. When she met his eyes again, she was surprised to find an expression of genuine concern on his face.

"Why did you leave?"

She turned her head again, staring off away from the bar; only then did he let his hand drop. "It's complicated."

"Ah," he said. "Bad break up?"

Ellie made a face and looked back at him. "Something like that." She grabbed her glass and took a swig. "It doesn't matter now." She took another drink and shook her head, setting the glass back down on the bar. "I came here," she added with a smile, "because I heard you playing as I walked by. I liked your set."

Christopher ran a hand through his hair, a mess of dark curls, and smiled at her compliment. "Thank you. I actually didn't think you'd taken any notice." He had watched her from the stage as she walked into the small pub and sat down with her back to him. Never once did she turn to watch while he played.

She smiled and pushed her hair back over her shoulder. "I don't need to be distracted by a pretty face to listen to music."

He laughed and turned to angle himself closer to her, playfully nudging her knee with his own. "You think I'm pretty do you?" She blushed, shrugging as she reached again for her pint, while his remained untouched. He watched with open curiosity as she took a long sip.

"You're not hard to look at, no," she answered.

Without looking away from her, he picked up his own glass and held it out. "Well thank you," he said again. "I consider myself lucky to get two compliments in such short order."

She raised her eyebrows in mock offense as she clinked her glass to his. "Oh I see. Five minutes of chat and you think you've got me all figured out?"

It was her turn to watch with interest. She found it difficult not to be distracted by the shape of his mouth as she waited to see if any liquid passed his lips. With an impish grin at her, he held the glass there just long enough to look like he took a sip and then set the glass back down again.

"Quite the contrary," he said, his expression turning more serious. His hand slowly slid over the edge of the bar until the tips of his fingers rested ever so lightly on her hand. "I find you to be rather enigmatic."

She tensed at his touch, but didn't pull away. Instead, she found herself leaning closer, drawn by his scent as she breathed in more heavily. Neither of them moved, until he suddenly inhaled sharply and sat back, grimacing.

"You okay?" she said shakily, thrown off by his sudden retreat.

His hand moved from hers and he rubbed the back of his neck, looking around uncomfortably. "Yeah, sorry." He offered a tense smile. "Listen, would you like to get out of here? Take a walk or something?"

Ellie let go of the breath she'd been holding, understanding at once. "Oh, yeah. Of course."

He stood and grabbed his guitar, holding out his arm. "Shall we then?"

They walked in silence. Ellie found herself surprised at how comfortable it seemed.

"Sorry about before," he said quietly after a few blocks. "It just got a bit…crowded in there."

"It's okay," she replied, squeezing his arm a little. "I completely understand." She'd been too distracted by their conversation to notice much of what was going on around her, but once he'd called attention to the crowd, it instantly got harder for her to ignore. "Big groups of people can be a challenge for me too."

"Why's that?" He looked down at her curiously.

She stared ahead as they continued to walk, chewing her lip instead of answering. They'd played coy back at the bar, but she started to think she had let too much slip already. He pulled his arm free, taking her hand.

"Come on," he said, tugging her along. She had to jog to keep up.

"Where are we going?!"

"Bang a left up here!" he called over his shoulder. When they reached a darkened pier, he slowed his gait and threw her an apologetic grin. "Sorry."

She laughed and playfully shoved his shoulder. "I would have come along, you know. No need to drag me through the street."

He stopped and whirled to face her, letting go of her hand and lightly touching her face.

"You really would have, wouldn't you?" His head tilted slightly to the side, and she pressed her teeth into her bottom lip as her heartbeat sped up again. Again, this seemed to catch his attention. He cleared his throat and took her hand again. "Come on."

They came right to edge of the pier and he sat down, patting the space beside him. She obliged, sitting down with one leg under her and the other hanging over the edge and turning so that she faced him. He stared out over the edge, where tiny broken slivers of moonlight bounced along the ripples in the water.

"So," he said, exhaling slowly and glancing over at her. "Where were we?"

"I think we were in the middle of me telling you too much, and you not telling me much of anything at all."

He chuckled. "To be fair, you haven't asked me anything yet." He turned himself to mimic her position, holding his hands out to his sides, palms facing outward. "Ask away."

She wrinkled her nose as she debated what to ask first before just blurting one out at random. "Do you play there often?"

Christopher had braced for worse than that, and couldn't help but laugh. His amusement echoed out into the night; the sound was much louder out in the open than at the bar.

"That's what you want to know?"

Ellie crossed her arms over her chest, huffing indignantly. "Yes. Yes it is."

"Oh, okay," he said, playing along. "No, not often. Couple times a year, maybe. I usually find a few places to play every once in a while in whatever city I happen to be living in."

Ellie nodded and looked out over the water. Christopher waited, watching her nibble her lip. "What else?" he prodded when she didn't speak again.

"You travel a lot."

"That's not really a question." He angled his head so he could better see her face.

"No, I suppose it's not."

"Ellie," he said coaxingly, "what is it?"

This got her to look at him. "What's what?"

"It's okay. We don't have to do this." He slid closer, and reached out to touch her hand, which was now bracing the edge of the pier. "I didn't mean to push."

When he touched her, the tension in her muscles relaxed, and she stretched out her fingers, allowing him to weave his own between them. He wedged his thumb underneath to gently stroke her palm, and she stared down at where their hands were joined.

"You didn't. I think I just chickened out a little."

She felt his hand shake a little, and looked over to find him trying to swallow another laugh. "What?"

"Sorry. I am just having trouble picturing you chickening out of anything. I was really quite surprised that you didn't run off after I approached you tonight."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "You're not that scary, Mr. Big-Bad Vampire." They both froze for moment as the word hung in the air between them. Before he could recover, she surprised him again. "Hey, that wasn't so bad after all," she said, sticking her tongue out.

"That's real mature," Christopher mumbled, chucking nervously. He shook his head and looked up at the sky. "We'll come back to the matter of me not being scary," he looked back at her with a wink, "but answer me this, Eleanor Cullen: When did you know, and how?"

She looked at their hands, still together, and began to trace over his knuckles with the index finger of her free hand. "Um," she stalled, changing her path to include the bones of his wrist, "I knew as soon as I looked at you when you came up to me at the bar."

He tensed, surprised to find she had recognized his true nature so quickly. "And how?"

She pulled her free hand away, pushing her hair back out of her face and holding it back behind her head. "My family…they are, well…they're like you."

He nodded slowly, trying to imagine a house full of vampires raising…well, he didn't know what to call her. "And you?"

Her head tilted to the side, and the corner of her lips quirked upward on one side. The slight copper highlight in her hair caught his eye as it shimmered in the moonlight, and he was reminded of how she immediately captivated his attention from the moment she stepped into the bar. Her creamy skin had a nearly human-looking pink glow, and her crystal blue eyes were not those of an immortal.

"And me what?" she whispered, breaking his concentration on her features.

He reached out with his free hand, tracing the curve of her cheek with his fingertips, trailing lower until he reached her collarbone, his thumb barely resting on the hollow of her throat. He stared at his hand on her skin, awed by the warmth radiating off of her, and mesmerized by the bizarre flutter of her heart within her chest. He could feel her breathing speed up as his touch lingered.

"What _are_ you?"


	2. Chapter 2

Dawn was just beginning to break over the horizon as Ellie sat against the hood of her car. The lot outside of Forks Community Hospital was all but abandoned save for a small handful of vehicles. She had her pick of spaces, but she parked next to the nicest car on the lot – a sleek, jet-black Mercedes.

She stretched her legs out in front of her, crossed at her ankles, and took a sip of the coffee she'd picked up at an all-hours gas station. "Gross," she mumbled, pulling off the lid and swirling the contents of the cup around. The good coffee shop wouldn't be open for hours, but Ellie had hoped the smell of the stale-tasting brown liquid would at least mask the smell of another immortal.

As she waited, her mind wandered back to the pier. Christopher had listened intently as Ellie reluctantly explained what she was - a half-breed, a hybrid of human and vampire. She told him about the family of vampires that raised her; how she'd grown from infant to adult in only seven years; and how she now walked the earth as they did – never changing and forever living. It was after this that she declared that it was time for her to finish her journey home.

"Where _is_ home?" Christopher had asked after walking her to the car; despite her insistence that it wasn't necessary.

"Forks, for the moment," she'd answered. He smiled ruefully and brought her hands to his mouth, pressing his lips against her fingers.

"It's been a pleasure, Eleanor. I truly hope we meet again."

Ellie hissed a wistful sigh and shook her head, at last committing to the decision she'd been delaying. The car radio was on and a familiar melody caught her ear, an old favorite of her mother's from the year Ellie was born. She hummed along, punching out a message on her phone.

_A – don't panic when you all disappear. I'm coming home. _

* * *

Carlisle Cullen was in an unusually bad mood. While he never wished for humans to find themselves sick or injured, they almost never failed to do exactly that in the middle of the night. Even in such a small town, Carlisle could count on his overnight shifts to provide him a distraction from his worries.

On this night, however, his chosen occupation had been largely unneeded by the residents of Forks, Washington. It had been more than three hours since a patient had come in, and the unit's only other occupant would have been fit for discharge after her bout of food poisoning; but she was sleeping so soundly Carlisle instructed the staff to let her remain until she woke.

He had retreated to his office until he heard his replacement arrive and slowly began to gather his things. He moved slowly through the hospital, taking more time than necessary even by human standards to reach the main entrance.

His fingers closed around the keys in his pocket as he stepped onto the pavement, and a slight breeze hit him and stopped him in his tracks. He looked up and scanned the lot, searching for the source of the familiar scent until his eyes settled on the car parked next to his own.

_Ellie!_

She rose to her feet in time to brace herself – Carlisle raced across the parking lot to embrace his long-absent daughter.

"Ellie!" he said aloud, hugging her fiercely and picking her up of the ground.

"Dad," she squeaked, struggling to free herself. "I can't breathe."

* * *

"How's mom?"

Carlisle sighed, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. When Ellie finally convinced him to let her go, they got into his car, sitting with the engine running as they talked.

"She's fine," he hedged. "She…well she wanted to go to Alaska today to bring you back home."

Ellie blanched. "Oh." She could see into his mind using her supernatural gift for mindreading, and it was impossible to ignore when they were in such close quarters. He'd had to convince her that they needed to trust Ellie to come back when she was ready.

Carlisle leaned his head against the seat and looked over at her. "It doesn't matter, Ellie. Your mother will be so happy that your back." He paused, thinking for a moment. "You are staying, right?"

Ellie smiled. "Yes, Daddy. I'm staying."

"Good." Carlisle shifted the car into drive. "Do you want to go for a hunt?"

The offer was tempting, but Ellie hesitated. She did not want to delay the inevitable chaotic reunion with her mother and siblings.

"Shouldn't we get back to the house?"

Carlisle clapped a hand on Ellie's shoulder. "We can, but it will just be us for the next day or two. Your brothers and sisters were worried that your mother would spend today…as Emmett so tactfully put it, moping about the house."

Ellie squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh god. I'm sorry, Daddy." She grabbed for the door handle. "I should just go find them…"

"Ellie," Carlisle said calmly, reaching across to hold her hand still, "stop. It's all right. Your mother is fine, and everyone will be happy to see you when they get home."

Ellie settled into her seat, chewing her lip as she looked back at her father. "Are you sure?"

He smiled. "I am. Now about that hunt?"

* * *

"Ellie!" Carlisle called downstairs, leaning over the railing from the second floor. She peaked around the doorway to the kitchen.

"Yeah Dad?"

He couldn't help but smile at the sight of their youngest, moving about the house as if she'd never even left. "Are you sure you'll be okay here by yourself tonight? I can call off my shift if you want company."

Ellie thought about it. It would have been nice to have someone else to keep her company. The house felt vast and unfamiliar to her, and peace and quiet was never something she'd grown accustomed to; she found the lack of noise to be a bit unsettling. But she knew what Carlisle's work meant to him, and it wasn't often that he could have a night at work without some semblance of guilt about not spending time with his wife, instead.

"Don't worry about me, Daddy," she said, shaking her head. "I haven't slept in a while so I'm probably going to crash early anyway."

"Okay," he answered, rubbing a towel over his damp hair as he headed back to the master bedroom. He tried to mask his concern, but he knew he hadn't been quick enough to cover his thoughts when Ellie yelled back to him again from the bottom of the steps.

"Really, Dad. I'm going to be fine."

She reassured him once more when he came downstairs and found her stretched out on the sofa, reading one of Rosalie's magazines, and again as he picked up his bag to leave. As his car pulled out of the driveway, Ellie sighed and threw the magazine back onto the table, flipping on the television and tucking one of the decorative throw pillows under her head, watching the news for only a few minutes before her eyelids grew heavy.

After being awake for nearly two days straight, Ellie slept hard. So hard, that she didn't hear her phone ring from right beside her when Carlisle called to check in only two hours into his twelve-hour shift. A few hours after that, she didn't hear the firm knock on the front door.

When the visitor knocked a second time, Ellie jolted awake. She sat up with a hand over her pounding heart, startled by the sound. She'd almost convinced herself that she'd dreamed it until the knock rang out for a third time.

"Jesus." She stood up and called loudly toward the door, "hold on a second!"

"Who in god's name comes to sell stuff this far out of town anyway," she grumbled to herself as she half-stumbled to the door. She reached for the door handle, pausing to take a deep breath to wake herself up so she could tell off the visitor with a clear head. She froze as she recognized the scent on the other side of the door.

She forced her hand to turn the knob, and it shuddered under her grip and the door swung open. Christopher stood smiling on the front porch, with his hands casually buried in his pockets.


	3. Chapter 3

"Good evening, Eleanor." Christopher cocked his head to the side, taking in her appearance. When he'd met her the night before, he hadn't paid much attention to her clothes, but what he remembered was the air of elegance and confidence that she exuded simply sitting next to him at the bar.

Now, standing in the doorway in rumpled lounge attire – her zippered hoody slightly askew and her hair piled atop her head in a lopsided knot with shorter pieces falling out and framing her face – she looked positively adorable. He smiled again as Ellie straightened the jacket and tucked a strand behind her ear, as if suddenly aware of his observations. She studied the floor for a moment as a warm pink blush appeared across her cheeks before she finally looked him in the eye.

"Christopher," she said, her teeth pressing into her bottom lip. "What on earth are you doing here?"

He chuckled, pulling one hand from his pocket and holding it out. "I got a call from the manager at the bar this morning. He found this near where you'd been sitting. He remembered seeing us talking and thought I might know how to get it back to you."

Christopher opened his hand, and resting against his palm was a simple, thin bangle, with one small medallion emblazoned with a crest in the center. Ellie stepped onto the porch to get a better look, recognizing the bracelet at once.

"Oh my god! I didn't even notice!" She clutched her left wrist, where the bracelet usually resided. "Thank you!"

She stepped closer again to take it from him, but he caught her wrist with his free hand, gently extending her arm so he could slide the bracelet back into place. He never looked away from her face as his fingers gently worked the bangle over her fingers first, then past her knuckles and finally letting it rest against the delicate bones of her wrist.

He turned her hand over, examining how the bracelet rested against her forearm. She shivered as his thumb gently stroked the inside of her palm as he had done the night before. He tilted his head to the side, his lips curling up into a half-smile.

"Are you cold?"

She shook her head. "No." She glanced back to the open door behind her. "Would you like to come in?"

She led him into the foyer, where he released her hand so she could close the door behind them.

He spun around once, taking in what he could see from the entryway. "This is quite nice."

Ellie smiled. "Thanks. None of it is my doing. My mother has quite a gift for decorating and architecture. She's done a lot of work to pretty much every house we've lived in." She stepped forward, trying to keep from brushing against him as she moved around where he stood. She could see his lips twitch as he bit back a laugh at her awkward maneuvering.

"Would you like to see the rest?"

He nodded. "Lead the way." He followed her throughout the house, commenting when he spotted details he liked, much to Ellie's amusement. When he remarked about the wainscoting throughout the upstairs hallway, she couldn't contain her laughter.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," she said through her giggles, pausing in the long corridor of bedroom doors and leaning against the wall. "You got very excited by wall panels."

He turned to face her, pressing one of his hands against the wall near her head. "Are you making fun of me?"

"I might be," she replied, sticking her chin out and pretending to glare defiantly. He knew she would not be able to hold it for long; her lips twitched as she tried desperately not to smile. With his free hand, he tickled the space between her hipbone and her ribs, and she jumped.

"Hey!" she squealed. "No fair! No tickling!" She flung her hand out to swat his chest, but he caught it and held it against him, pulling them closer together.

"Who said I play fair?" he murmured. The hand he'd braced against the wall now cupped the side of her face, sliding his thumb along her cheekbone. His eyes followed the path, studying the trail of her blush that followed. He looked up, and found her staring at him, wide-eyed but not frightened.

"Your heartbeat is faster when I do that."

She nodded, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.

"You really aren't scared of me at all though, are you?"

She shook her head.

He nodded, and she watched his brows pull together as his gazed shifted slightly away from her eyes.

"That's not usually what that sound means, to me," he mumbled toward the wall. When he looked back at her, he smiled. "I rather like it."

Ellie didn't dare move as she watched his expression grow serious again, his eyes training on the shape of her mouth. He drew his thumb from her cheek to the corner of her lips, and the pounding in her chest grew louder still as he gently pried her lower lip from between her teeth. He could feel the heat of her breath across the tip of his thumb.

She didn't try to control her breathing even as it threatened to spiral out of control. All she could do was stare helplessly as he tilted his head, inching his face closer to hers. Time moved so slowly she could have counted the seconds that passed in fractions, if she could remember how to count at all. It was all she could do to focus on the way he now held her waist, his fingertips sliding beneath her jacket and shirt and pressing into her skin. She shuddered as the stubble on his face tickled her cheek, and after what could easily have been a thousand frantic beats of her heart, she felt the soft pressure of his cool lips against hers.

As slowly as time had dragged on before their lips touched, Ellie could feel it racing past her while they kissed, and yet all the while it was like everything other than the two of them simply stopped.

His mouth moved gently over hers, and she slid her hands along his neck, pulling herself closer in response. After too few seconds, his grip on her waist loosened and she felt him pull away. She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the wall and willing her heart to slow its manic stammer.

When she opened her eyes again, she was met with a wistful, yet triumphant grin.

"Shall we continue?" Ellie stared at him, looking bewildered. He chuckled and she inhaled sharply at the husky tone. "The tour, I meant."

"Right, the tour," she mumbled, shoving herself away from the wall and forcing her mind to focus. She stepped around him, refusing to meet his eyes and he followed her, bemused, as she led him down the hall and pointed out which rooms belonged to her various siblings. When they reached the last doorway, she paused and finally turned to face him.

"This," she said with a soft smile, "is my dad's office." She pushed the door open and bounded forward, turning around with her arms extended on either side.

Christopher leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, watching her with a smile.

"Come in," she urged. "It's fine."

Christopher took a few cautious steps, stopping about one third of the way in. He felt like he was trespassing in another vampire's territory. Ellie laughed suddenly, shaking her head.

"No you're fine I swear, he won't mind." He cocked his head to the side. It was like she guessed what he was thinking. She blushed inexplicably, but shook it off and threw a glance toward a shelf full of antique medical gadgets. "Just don't touch his old medical kits."

His eyebrows rose as he recognized the mischief in her eyes. "I sense there's a story there."

Ellie grinned. "Yeah. I got caught playing with his old stuff." She laughed again, and Christopher thought how pleasing it was that he was getting used to that sound. The realization sent a thrill down his spine, and her face flushed inexplicably.

He waited for her to say something else, but she suddenly turned her attention to the wall of art that stood behind him. He'd noticed it on the way in, and any other day he would be studying the array of pictures with fascination. But now, he wanted to know what was going through Ellie's mind that led to the enchanting glow beneath her skin. Perhaps, he wondered to himself, she was recalling their stolen moment in the hall.

He tilted his head curiously as the blush turned deeper, and spread to the edge of the thin camisole she wore beneath her jacket.

Ellie turned around, looking for something else in the room to point out to redirect his thoughts. His mind was terribly distracting to her, and her heartbeat again began to race. The sound drew him closer, and Ellie leaned back against his chest when he stepped behind her.

"So," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear. "Is there a room in this house for the creature that actually sleeps?"


	4. Chapter 4

She whirled around to face him, and found herself in his arms as he linked his fingers behind her back. She placed her hands on his chest, staring straight ahead at where they rested.

"How did you know I sleep?"

He laughed, reaching one hand up to tug the back of her ponytail. "It was pretty obvious that I woke you up." He stooped down to catch her eye, and waited for her to oblige and meet his gaze. "Sorry about that, by the way."

She smiled and disentangled herself, but took hold of one of his hands. "Come on," she said. "My room is this way."

They walked upstairs, and she nodded toward two other bedrooms – one for her parents, and one for another brother. Christopher stopped before she could tug him along further.

"How many brothers do you have?"

Ellie laughed. "Three. Two sisters. Except they aren't related to each other, obviously, and I'm not related to any of them. Except for Edward." She pointed her thumb to one of the doors. "We're not really siblings by blood, but we are related."

"Right. That...makes complete sense."

His expression twisted with confusion, and Ellie couldn't help but giggle as she came to a stop in front of another bedroom.

"Anyway," she said quietly, before he could comment further, "My room is this one."

Christopher instantly lost interest in the subject of family relations. She cleared her throat and withdrew her hand, using both hands to open the door. He once again lingered beneath the doorframe as she walked into the room.

Like much of what he'd already seen, the room was bathed in neutral colors, and an entire wall was made of thick glass. She had a magnificent view of the forests that surrounded the house. On the opposite side, the wall was lined from the floor to the ceiling with thin shelves, all crammed with framed photos. Ellie watched, chewing her thumbnail as Christopher stepped inside and came to a stop in front of her collection of pictures.

He squinted as he studied the images; most of which he guessed were of her family, all featured in various candid moments. "Did you take all of these?"

She came to stand beside him. "Most of them." She pointed to a small photo in an antique frame at the very center of the wall, and a brilliant smile spread across her lips, lighting up her entire face. "This one is my favorite."

It was a simple black and white shot of a couple sitting outside. A fair-haired man with his arm around the shoulders of the woman seated next to him, leaning in to press a kiss into her hair. "Is that…?"

"My parents, yeah. It used to be in my brother's room, but when I was little I used to steal it from him." She laughed at the memory. "Eventually he just handed it over and let me keep it."

Christopher studied it for a moment longer, and then let his eyes roam the rest of the wall. A photo of a copper-haired cherub hanging upside-down from a tree caught his attention next. "And this is you?"

Ellie flashed another bright smile. "Yeah. I was…er, maybe two?" She walked around him to get a closer look. "Yeah, I remember that dress. It fit for about two weeks. My father always gave me grief for climbing trees. I didn't realize until I was grown that he first met my mother when she was human and she'd broken her leg falling out of a tree."

Christopher chuckled, pointing to another photo with Ellie; only she appeared a bit older. "Is that one of your brothers?"

"That's Jasper," she said, scanning the wall with her index finger extended. "And that…is Alice. Rosalie and Emmett are up there, and this one," she tapped a picture just a few over from the one of her parents, "is Edward."

"You look alike," Christopher commented. "He's a musician?"

"Yeah, he and Rosalie both are. They taught me."

"You play?" he asked excitedly.

She nodded, pointing to another photo. "Yep. Piano mostly." Her head tilted to the side, absently pulling the elastic from around her hair and shaking it out. Looking back to Christopher, she saw he had turned his body to face her. He nodded and looked back toward the photo wall. She watched him as his gaze flicked across the pictures and then around the rest of the room while they sat in a comfortable silence.

"So," she said after a few minutes, waiting for his focus to return to her. "You kissed me."

"I did." He slid closer, angling himself to face her, and carefully tucked her hair back behind her ear. "I was wondering if I could perhaps do it again."

She shivered as he let his hand slowly drift down her back, and along her arm. Looking up at him, she reached for his face, touching her palm to his cheek. He pressed a gentle kiss against the pad of her thumb as she held it against his lips.

"I…don't know if that's such a good idea," she whispered, pulling her hand away.

"Okay," Christopher said with a smile that he hoped would disguise his disappointment. "I'm sorry if I was out of line before."

She shook her head. "No, no, not at all. It's not that I don't want to. It's just…" She rose from the bed, crossing her arms over her chest and standing in front of the photo wall.

"Complicated?" he supplied when she didn't finish her sentence. No response came, and he stood up, daring to stand beside her again. "May I ask what happened?"

At this, she looked at him, not understanding. "The break up, before you left for…?"

"Alaska."

"Right…Alaska. He broke your heart, didn't he?"

He saw her stiffen at the implication that she'd been hurt, and this did not surprise him. He had already guessed that she wouldn't want to appear weak or fragile.

"It's not that he broke my heart," she countered, "I just…I decided I wanted more, and I knew that it wasn't something he could give me, and he felt like I changed the rules on him."

He nodded, looking back at the pictures while he considered this. "And did you?"

"Did I what?" The defensive tone was creeping back into her voice.

"Change the rules on him?"

At this, she threw her hands in the air. "I don't know, maybe I did! Am I not allowed to change my mind?"

"Hey," he said, raising his hands, "I'm not saying that. I was just curious."

"You're always curious," she snapped, stalking out the door and down the stairs.

He stared after her bemused, and followed, slowly rounding the bend in the staircase to see her pacing the foyer.

"Should I go?"

She sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm behaving abysmally."

"I won't tell," he joked, carefully taking a few steps closer. "Promise." He watched a small smile creep its way across her face. "Seriously, though, I did not mean to upset you, Ellie." He chanced another few steps until he was close enough to reach for her hand.

"I will go." Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, smiling against her skin as he heard her sigh, and felt her fingers squeeze his. She squeezed her eyes closed as his lips lingered for a second longer, not turning to watch him as he slipped through the front door.

* * *

Ellie was huddled under a blanket in Carlisle's office, trying to distract herself with a book she'd plucked at random from his massive collection, when she heard them. Frantic footsteps and anxious thoughts drew her to her feet, but before she could make it as far as the door, her mother burst into the house. Ellie braced herself as she heard her mother racing up the stairs, letting out a quiet sob as she felt herself wrapped in the familiar embrace.

"_Mom_."


	5. Chapter 5

Esme sat cross-legged on the bed in her youngest daughter's room, watching Ellie as she stared through the glass wall into the black night.

"You haven't slept much," Esme commented. She almost laughed at the guilty expression that immediately crossed Ellie's face. "Your father called me and said you were waiting for him when he got off at dawn when you returned, and that you'd driven all night from Alaska."

"Oh," said Ellie shifting on the bed to face her mother. "Yeah. I, uh, stopped in Seattle for a couple of hours to…stretch my legs."

Ellie had been grateful that her mother hadn't pressed her for specific details yet. Esme had been satisfied simply to have her daughter home. Ellie knew, however, that the reprieve wouldn't last for long. She looked away from her mother's face, focusing her concentration on what was happening outside her bedroom.

Her siblings were spread throughout the house, and all of them – with the exception of Emmett and Alice – were listening with curiosity. They'd all noticed the unfamiliar scent as they approached the house, only to find Ellie alone in Carlisle's office.

With a long sigh, Ellie flopped back against her pillow. "It's really not what you think Mom."

Esme raised her eyebrows; silently calling Ellie's bluff through her carefully controlled thoughts.

"Ugh!" Ellie pulled the covers up over her head, peaking out a few seconds later.

"I'd been thinking about home a lot lately, but had been trying not to make any decisions. I didn't want Alice to start having those weird spots in her visions because I might be coming back. I got as far as Seattle and got cold feet."

Ellie chanced another glance at her mother, who was listening with wide, patient eyes. She felt her own began to fill with tears. "Mom, I'm sorry. I never planned to stay away so long. After a while though, I think…I was just afraid to come back and face you all."

"Oh sweetheart," Esme cooed, pulling Ellie into a hug. "You never need to be afraid of your family." Ellie sniffed and wiped her eyes, leaning into her mother's side. "Do you want to know what I think?"

Ellie nodded, sniffling again.

"I think you were embarrassed. You let yourself hope for something improbable, and it didn't work out."

Esme pulled back to see her daughter's face, smoothing back her hair and wiping stray tears from her cheeks. "You are always so careful; you and your brother both. You have this amazing gift to see into the depths of people's minds. You can see their love, their passion and their utter heartbreak – their best and their worst. It's no wonder you keep yourself so guarded."

Esme pressed a kiss to Ellie's forehead. "No matter what happens, Eleanor, this family will always be a safe place."

"You should eat something," Esme said gently as she stood and walked toward the door. Ellie ran her thumb over the engraved crest on her bracelet, a symbol that had always given her courage when she needed it most.

"I dropped my bracelet," Ellie said, her voice raw. Esme turned, tilting her head to the side. "He brought it back to me last night – the vampire that you can all smell. We had talked for a while in Seattle and I must not have heard it fall. I had told him my name and that I was coming here and he returned it last night."

Ellie breathed a sigh of relief when Esme smiled. "I will make you breakfast when you're ready to come downstairs." Esme turned to leave, hesitating for a moment. "Happy birthday, Ellie."

Ellie smiled, glancing at the clock. "Technically my birthday was yesterday," she said with a hint of sass. Esme laughed, and started to close the door behind her.

"Breakfast will be ready when you are, Eleanor."

* * *

Ellie shoved the shower faucet to the side, turning the water off and stepping out of the shower onto the cool bathroom floor. She'd stood still under the blazing hot stream of water until it nearly ran cold; letting her mind absorb the gentle absolution her mother had offered. Her words had indeed given her peace, but she wondered if her siblings would welcome her as warmly as her parents had.

She wrapped a large fluffy towel around her self and reached for a comb. Her bracelet caught her eye where it lay on the counter. Despite the warmth from the humidity that clung to the air, a delicate shiver coursed through her, and she was suddenly reminded of Christopher's touch as he carefully placed the bracelet on her wrist. The temporary thrill fizzled, however, when she recalled how she'd dismissed him. She wondered if Esme had any idea how well her words could be applied to past and present.

When she'd dressed and dried her hair, run out of reasons to hide in her room, enticing smells had wafted their way upstairs from the kitchen, and Ellie's stomach rumbled. She started for the door, no longer wishing to delay facing her siblings, but paused before the wall of photos.

She smiled as she remembered pointing her favorites out to Christopher. She scanned the artfully cluttered shelves, and she felt a knot tighten in her stomach as one caught her eye.

Ellie plucked the small rectangular frame from the shelf, smiling wistfully at the faces grinning up at her. Neither had aged since the picture was snapped, but Ellie knew the years that had passed had aged them. A small knock against the doorframe startled her, drawing her eyes away.

"That seems like a long time ago to you, doesn't it?"

Rosalie leaned against the doorway, arms crossed delicately across her chest. She'd pulled her hair up into a complicated knot, with swirls of golden strands falling all around her face.

"It's ancient history, Rose," she said. Turning to face her sister, she felt the muscles in her back tighten. "Go on then. Let's have the 'I told you so,' you've been holding onto for the last eight months."

Rosalie shook her head. "No, Ellie. I'm just…sorry. I'm sorry for the way things ended, and that you felt you needed to leave."

Ellie rolled her eyes and stalked across the room, yanking open a drawer in her desk. The frame rattled as she dropped the photo on its face.

"Sorry I didn't just let it end ten years ago."

Her eyes stung as she squeezed them shut, struggling to regain control over her body. She was not about to cry in front of Rosalie. When she opened her eyes again, Rosalie smiled gently, like Ellie remembered from when she was a child.

"I'm sorry you got hurt." Her eyes narrowed. "And I missed you, you brat."

Ellie laughed, and wiped away the rogue tears that had escaped despite her best efforts. She held her arms out, only to be swept into a familiar, cool hug.

"I missed you too," she whispered. Rosalie stroked Ellie's hair for a moment before disentangling herself from her sister's warm embrace.

"Come on," she said, linking her arm through Ellie's. "I made you muffins."

Ellie sniffed and wiped away another tear. "Banana? With chocolate chips?"

"Yes, you foul creature. Of course." Rosalie tightened her arm around Ellie, kissing the top of her head. Ellie laughed and wrapped her arms around Rosalie's waist.

"Oh by the way," Rosalie added a few moments later as they descended the stairs together. "Something came for you."

"What?" Ellie asked, but as the foyer came into view, a brilliant bouquet of blue orchids and white tulips caught her eye. She glanced at Rosalie questioningly.

"It's got your name on it," she said with a wicked grin.

Ellie skipped the last steps with a graceful, controlled leap, and standing in front of the entrance hall table, reached for the white envelope sticking out from amidst the flowers with a shaking hand.

_Dear Eleanor,_  
_I am sorry if I upset you yesterday, but I wanted to wish you the happiest of birthdays. I hope that we can meet again._

_Yours,_  
_Christopher_

She was still staring at his name on the card when the phone in her pocket began to ring.


	6. Chapter 6

Ellie could feel her face growing warm as she fished the phone out of her pocket. She turned her back on the small crowd of curious onlookers that had gathered in the hall and flipped open the device.

"Hello?" she answered, her voice wavering slightly. Emmett snickered behind her; and she held up her hand, waving her middle finger back at him. She cleared her throat and twirled a strand of hair around her finger, tapping her foot anxiously against the hardwood floor.

Christopher let the silence linger longer than he meant to, savoring the sound of her voice. He smiled at the sound of her anxious fidgeting.

"Hello, Ellie."

Ellie forgot her audience as she let out the breath she'd been holding as she waited for him to speak.

"Christopher," she breathed, unsure what to say next. "Um…how did you get my number?"

Ellie could hear a muffled chuckle on the other end, and could picture the way he would have held his fist against his mouth to try and hide his amusement.

"The board in the kitchen. I assume it was your mother, but someone has rather helpfully listed out everyone's cell phone numbers. I made sure to remember yours."

"Oh." The flame beneath Ellie's cheeks grew hotter, and this time even Esme laughed quietly.

"Did you get the flowers?" he asked in the same amused tone. He could have sworn he could hear her frantic heartbeat even through the phone.

Ellie clapped her hand to her forehead. "Oh my gosh! Yes!" She had been so distracted by his call that she'd all but forgotten. "They're beautiful. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you liked them." He paused, and Ellie could hear his fingers brushing against fabric, as if he were fidgeting with his sleeve. "This probably sounds terribly trite, but the blue…it reminded me of your eye color. Not quite as striking as your eyes, but I thought they would do."

"Oh."

With a red-faced glare over her shoulder toward her gawking, giggling family members, Ellie ripped open the front door in a futile attempt to find privacy, nearly walking right into her father. Carlisle stepped to the side to let her pass, a bemused smirk on his face.

"Oh come on," Ellie hissed, holding the phone away from her mouth, with one hand over the receiver. "Not you too!"

She stalked down the front steps and onto the driveway, bringing the receiver back to her mouth. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Christopher laughed loudly into the phone. "I take it you have company now."

"Yes. They are acting like a bunch of school children in there." Ellie stopped beside her father's car, tugging on a thick strand of her hair. "Um, thank you."

"You said that already."

"No, I mean, about…you know," she stammered, stomping her foot in frustration at her own awkwardness, "about what you said. About the blue flowers…"

_Dear god, Ellie_, she thought to herself, _you are _terrible_ at this_. She was searching frantically for something else to say when she remembered the second thing that had puzzled her about the delivery.

"Hey, how did you know it was my birthday?"

"Ah," Christopher replied, "the etching on your bracelet."

Ellie slid the bracelet off her wrist, rubbing her thumb over the engraving. _E.E.C. August 3, 1952._

Each member of the family had been given an item bearing the Cullen crest. It meant something slightly different to each of them. On the day they were married, Carlisle presented Esme with a bracelet similar to the one Ellie now wore, with the date of their marriage inscribed on the back.

Her brothers each had a cuff they wore on their wrists. Edward's was inscribed with the date he awoke as a vampire and chose to stay by Carlisle's side; Emmett's the day he awoke to find Rosalie standing over him and chose the same.

Jasper's cuff and Alice's necklace each bore the date that they met in a diner in Philadelphia. It was that meeting that set their path, Carlisle had once explained to Ellie, bringing her brother and sister into his family.

Rosalie's had been a bit of a puzzle, for there had been no doubt of her resentment as she adjusted to the afterlife he had given her. One day, however, he'd returned home from his work and found the newborn Rosalie sitting outside in the garden at Esme's side, peacefully staring up at the stars. Edward came to him later that night and told him that this was the date for the inscription. It was the day she had begun to think of them as family.

"Right, of course," Ellie murmured, struggling to refocus her thoughts. "You don't miss much, do you?"

"I try not to."

When Ellie didn't speak again for several seconds, Christopher imagined how her face might be twisted in thought.

"Ellie?"

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," he answered gently. "I just wish I could actually see your face."

"Why's that?" She twirled the strand around her finger again, pulling it tight.

"Because your expression will at least give me a hint of what you're thinking about when you get quiet like this. It's very difficult to guess over the phone."

She closed her eyes, picturing the teasing smile she could hear in his voice.

"It is, isn't it?" she agreed with a mirthless laugh that only mystified him further.

"You could just tell me what you're thinking," he said softly. "If you wanted."

Another dark laugh, and he heard the air swoosh around the phone as if she were shaking her head. "I don't know. Maybe…"

"When you're ready."

"That could be a while, you know," Ellie quipped, and it relieved him to hear her playful inflection return.

"Hm," Christopher murmured in a deep tone. The sound sent a chill rippling through Ellie's spine. "As it happens, I have a while. But I was wondering something."

"What?" she whispered.

"I was thinking about what you said. About me being curious, and about how I haven't told you much about myself."

"And as you pointed out," Ellie countered, "Part of that is my fault for not asking you questions. I suppose though, I could just blame you for making my brain forget how to form coherent thoughts."

Christopher almost forgot how nervous he was to finish his request. "Is that so?" He wished he could hear the thrumming beat beneath her chest.

She blushed wildly, and was thankful that there was no one there to see her as she clapped her hand over her face in embarrassment. "And then when I do form a coherent thought, it simply must come out, apparently." She peeked into the forest between her fingers, as if he would appear between the trees. "Please go on before I keep talking."

"Oh no, I think I'd rather let you talk. I told you, I want to know what goes on in your mind."

Ellie groaned, sitting down on the cool grass and pressing her forehead to her knees.

"No," she groaned. "You really don't."

"We'll see," he said. "Anyway, as I was saying, I was wondering – if I promised to behave and let you direct the conversation – would you like to go out with me tomorrow evening?"

Ellie was glad she was sitting down. "Go out?"

"Yes." The smile in his voice was back.

"Like, on a date?"

"I suppose so, yes."

Ellie stammered her acceptance, and Christopher gleefully told her he would pick her up at seven the following evening. She shut the phone with two shaking hands and stood up, barely turning around before she was suddenly swept off the ground.

"Emmett!" Alice shouted before Ellie could even react. "Put her down! I need her! I don't have much time!"

Alice was frantically picturing different outfits for Ellie's date, and cursing her lack of vision when it came to her half-human sister.

"Oh god," Ellie moaned. "Emmett, _run_."

He needed no more encouragement than that. "Sorry Alice!" Emmett laughed gleefully, taking off at full speed into the forest.


	7. Chapter 7

Ellie sat cross-legged on the ground, in a small clearing several miles from the house. She watched with mild disgust as Emmett wiped his mouth and grinned, picking bits of deer fur from his teeth.

"Gross Emmett," she scoffed, tossing a handful of dried leaves in his direction.

He laughed, sitting down a few feet from her, leaning back on his elbows against a fallen tree trunk with his massive legs stretched out in front of him. "Yeah," he answered obliviously, "deer are not my favorite."

She rolled her eyes. "Alice is going to be pissed at me."

Emmett shrugged. "She will be fine. Hell, she could have come along!"

"Why did you kidnap me anyway?"

"It's not a kidnapping when you come along willingly," he retorted, wagging his finger at her. With an evil grin, he added, "Besides, I wanted to hang out with my baby sister before this new guy shows up and whisks you off on your date," stretching out the last word three syllables longer than necessary in a teasing, singsong tone.

Ellie pulled her knees into her chest and groaned. "Emmett…"

"No really, I'm dying to know how this is going to work. Is going to take you out for dinner? Catch of the day – fresh off the street – for him, and the vegetarian special for you?"

"Emmett!" Ellie smacked his arm, regretting the move instantly and cursing to herself. One day she would remember that move was as effective as a human smacking a cement wall. "Ouch!"

He threw his head back and roared with laughter while she held her hand and pouted. "It's not funny," she huffed, gingerly stretching her fingers out and checking for breaks.

His chortles quieted, and he reached over and took her hand, holding it between his own. "Here, does that help?"

She glared at him, but nodded reluctantly as his cool temperature muted the sting. He let go a moment later when the tense lines around her eyes relaxed slightly.

Settling back against the log, he winked at her. "Maybe next time you'll remember to keep your hands to yourself."

She crossed her arms across her chest, but as they sat together, not speaking, she knew she wouldn't stay mad at him for long.

It was easy to be quiet with Emmett. His thoughts were happy and calm, and his mind was very rarely riddled with guilt or worry, unless something was wrong with Rosalie. Most of the time he was happy to just be. Ellie had always been able to find a bit of peace in spending time with Emmett, and she found herself to be quite grateful that he ushered her away.

"So do I get to ask?" he said, breaking their comfortable silence.

"Ask about what?"

"You know about what." The evil grin returned and he remembered Ellie's face when she answered the call from Christopher. Ellie laughed out loud at her own expression – half horrified and half elated.

"Is that really what I looked like?" she sputtered through her giggles, which got louder when Emmett nodded. "Dear god," she gasped, clutching her sides. "I needed that."

"Happy to oblige, ma'am" Emmett said with a tip of an imaginary hat and a slight drawl that hinted back to his southern roots. "Does the lady wish to answer my question now?"

Ellie shook her head, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

"Aw, come on. There's nothing you want to tell us before he shows up here tomorrow night?"

Ellie groaned, throwing her head back and looking up at the canopy of tree branches overhead. "Maybe I can talk him into meeting me...where ever it is he is planning to take me."

"Nah," Emmett disagreed, "You wouldn't do that to Carlisle and Esme.

"You're right," she sighed. "I wouldn't. But it's a tempting thought." She sat up and crossed her legs again, drawing circles in the dirt in front of her. "There's not much to tell you anyway, other than what you've already heard. I don't know that much about him."

Emmett nodded thoughtfully and then jumped to his feet, making a fist and tapping his knuckles against the open palm of his other hand. "Well, Jazz and Edward and me could always talk to him. We could get a little information out of him." He waggled his brows threateningly.

Ellie stood, waving her hands. "No Emmett! Do _not_ embarrass me like that tomorrow." She glared at her brother, and he held her gaze with a grin. "Emmett. McCarty. Cullen. Don't you _dare_."

They stared each other down until a wide grin broke out on Emmett's face. "I'm just playing around. I will behave. Can't speak for Jazz and Edward, though."

"Ugh," Ellie groaned. "I know. I really should have planned this better."

"Come on," he said, taking her elbow. "I should get you back. Rose will kick my ass for not letting you eat after she made you those muffins and all."

She laughed, letting him start to lead her back. "I missed you Em."

"I missed you too kid," he said.

* * *

"Ellie!" Several knocks followed the sound of her name, but Ellie barely stirred.

Alice hissed a sigh, not needing a vision to see that Ellie was not going get up on her own. She knocked again and Ellie rolled over, shoving her hair out of her face, and burrowed further under the covers, ignoring the pestering noise that had begun to creep into her subconscious.

What Alice could see, however, was that Esme was about to appear to admonish her for trying to rouse her sleeping sister. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Esme's hand caught Alice by the wrist before she could wrap against the wooden door again.

"Alice," she warned, "let her sleep."

Alice turned on her heel, her lips forming a slightly manic smile as she faced the family matriarch.

"Esme," she said, "She's slept long enough; I don't have much time. There is so much to do!"

"Alice!" Esme hissed, but Alice had already burst through the bedroom door and into the closet. She followed, whispering furiously. "Alice, he won't be here for hours. She has plenty of time to get ready later."

Alice rolled her eyes, defying her adoptive mother openly. "Four hours, Esme. Four. Hours. And we have no idea what he has planned, or where they are going! This is a nightmare!" She turned her attention to the racks of clothing, frantically shoving large sections of hangers aside.

Frustrated by her lack of insight into how the evening would progress, she stepped around Esme to try and wake Ellie, but Ellie was already sitting up, staring at her sister with a look that was half-irritated, half-amused.

"Morning," Ellie said slowly.

"_Morning_?! It's three in the afternoon Eleanor!"

Ellie screwed up her face. She'd forgotten that she'd been so off-schedule. Stretching her arms above her head, she watched as Alice began tearing through her dresser drawers.

"Alice! What the hell?"

She jumped out of bed and ran to grab Alice by the arm. "Would you please stop destroying my room." She nudged Alice out of the way, folding the contents of the drawer back up and sliding it closed. "I already know what I'm going to wear."

Alice gaped at her. "You _do_?"

With a sigh, Ellie put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "Alice, I have been dressing myself for half-a-century, I think I can handle this one."

Alice closed her mouth and her eyes, struggling to see. Ellie glanced at Esme as she stared on in silence, and then waited for Alice to give up and look at her again. When her eyes opened Ellie was standing beside her bed with an outfit laid across it.

She waved her hand over the items and waited. Alice studied her selections – a belted coral sundress paired with a denim jacket and gold sandals. In lieu of her bangle bearing the family crest, she'd chosen bracelet of rose-gold balls encrusted with glittering crystals and finished the look with simple earrings – mint green and gold round studs.

"That's…not bad, Eleanor," Alice murmured, nodding her approval. Ellie would have been insulted by her sister's surprise, but she could see the slight disappointment behind Alice's eyes.

"I could use your help still, though Alice," Ellie said as Esme started to usher the pixie vampire out of the room. Alice turned with a smile.

"Make up?"

Ellie nodded. "_And_ hair. I'm a total loss at what to do with it."

Alice clapped and jumped up and down. "Oh! I have an idea! Go get in the shower," she ordered, waiving her off. "Go!" She turned to run back out the door, yelling down the hall. "Rosalie! I am going to need your help!"


	8. Chapter 8

The sound of tires turning onto the extensive drive leading to the Cullen home caught Ellie's ears. She was still held captive in Alice's bathroom, where her two sisters had toiled over her for hours – carefully applying make up to her face, polish to her nails and twisting her long, thick tresses into a stylishly messy braid that fell over one shoulder.

Alice's lips quirked to the side when she heard the steady rhythm of Ellie's heartbeat start to falter, racing for a moment before Ellie took several slow deep breaths, staring into her own reflection in the mirror. Rosalie smoothed a few more pieces of hair into place, stepping back to review their work.

"You look fantastic, Ellie," Alice beamed, "If I do say so myself." She held out her tiny hand to Ellie, who took it, allowing her sister to help her up. Alice pulled her trembling sister into a careful hug. _Breathe, honey. You're going to be fine._

The sound of a car door slamming shut made Ellie jump back, bouncing on the balls of her feet and shaking out her arms.

Rosalie touched Ellie's chin, a smile on her face despite the sage, concerned tone of her thoughts. "Have fun tonight," she said softly. _But be careful, please._

Ellie nodded and gently dabbed her finger against the inner corner of her eye, where a nervous tear threatened to escape. "Thanks mom," she joked.

Downstairs, the rest of her family curiously awaited the stranger's arrival. She shook her head at the sight of them huddled into the foyer, all still trying to appear as if they were just casually standing about.

"Wow," she said, "You all look so natural hovering around the door like that."

Her parents laughed, and Esme turned to shoo away Emmett, Jasper, and Edward. Everyone froze; all eyes on Ellie at the sound of a firm knock on the door.

* * *

Christopher leaned against the side of his powder-blue Austin Healey. He could hear the movements and breathing of the seven vampires waiting inside. He tried to shake off the instinctive anxiousness he felt as he slowly approached the front steps. He paused for a moment, closing his eyes and listening for the sound that he knew would calm his nerves.

He let the trembling rhythm of the lone heartbeat fill his mind, and the tension in his muscles eased at once. With no further hesitation, he walked up to the door, knocking as he had done only two nights prior. The door opened, and to his relief it was Ellie who answered.

"Christopher," she said with smile. "Please, come in."

He had expected her to stand aside slightly so he could move past without touching her, but she surprised him when she boldly took his hand to lead him inside.

He smiled, pausing beside her and bringing her hand to his face. "Eleanor," he said, "you look lovely."

Her grin widened and a soft pink blush spread from her neck up to her cheekbones. "Hmm," she murmured, biting her lip as she looked him over. "Still not hard to look at." Christopher could feel the trail of her gaze as she studied him, and he felt an unfamiliar warmth radiate through him when she flashed another dazzling smile.

He chuckled and squeezed her hand. She turned her head for a second as if someone had called her name, pulling him through the door. She was still gripping his hand as she turned them to face the two vampires that Christopher recognized from her pictures as her parents.

She cleared her throat, pulling her hand from his and placing it lightly against the middle of his back. "Christopher," she said softly, glancing from him to the blonde-haired man waiting patiently before them. "This is my father, Carlisle."

Carlisle wore a calm, welcoming, expression, and as they shook hands, Christopher was struck by how relaxed he seemed in the presence of a stranger.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Cullen," he said, remembering the ornately framed medical degrees he'd seen in the upstairs office.

"It's nice to meet you as well," he replied, stepping back and putting his arm around the woman beside him. "Please, Carlisle is fine."

Ellie touched Christopher's arm, regaining his attention as she gestured toward the female. "And this," she said, smiling at the woman, "is my mother, Esme."

"It's lovely to meet you," Christopher said, shaking Esme's hand as well. "You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you," Esme said, beaming. She glanced at her daughter and winked, and Ellie's face flamed. Christopher looked between them, slightly mystified, but before he could ask her what he'd missed, Ellie sighed and craned her neck to see past her parents, into the next room.

"Oh for Christ's sake," she muttered with annoyance that Christopher did not understand. "Guys, come on. Let's get this over with."

Still lost, Christopher followed her as she stepped closer to where he could see three men standing in a dimly lit sitting room. He found their inquisitive stare to be a bit less comforting than the welcome from Ellie's parents.

He wondered if Ellie had sensed his tension when she took his hand again, linking their fingers and leading him into the next room.

"Christopher, that is Emmett," she pointed to the broad-shouldered, dark haired man that leered from behind the others. His wide smiled revealed all of his teeth, and Christopher couldn't help but think he'd rather not get on his bad side.

The youngest looking one who stood slightly in front of the others chuckled, seemingly for no reason, and Christopher's attention turned to him. Noting the hair color that matched Ellie's almost exactly, he nodded toward the boy.

"You must be Edward then."

"I am." He pointed to the last, who had barely blinked since Christopher walked into the room, standing stock still with his arms crossed over his chest. "That's Jasper."

Christopher tensed again, seeing the scars that lined the man's arms for the first time. Ellie squeezed Christopher's fingers, and his posture relaxed.

"And over there on the stairs," Ellie said, the sound of her voice startling Christopher enough to focus his attention away from the three glowering men, "are my sisters, Alice and Rosalie."

Christopher cleared his throat. "Well," he said, smiling politely, "it was lovely to meet all of you," he turned to face Ellie, "but we should probably be going. We have a bit of a drive, I'm afraid."

Ellie raised her eyebrows, regarding him curiously. "We do?"

He touched her nose with the pad of his index finger. "Yes. So, shall we?"

She waved to her gawking family and took his proffered arm. Once outside, her shoulders sagged and she let out a long sigh.

Christopher paused on the steps. "You okay?"

Ellie smiled. "Yeah. Sorry about all that. That was terribly awkward, wasn't it?"  
He laughed and led her forward, opening the passenger side door for her.

"It was...interesting."

She laughed at his grimace and climbed into the car.

"Interesting, huh?" she replied as he took his place behind the wheel.

"I can honestly say that I have never encountered such a large coven before." He slid the key into the ignition and turning it, looking over at Ellie. "They obviously all care very much about you."

He watched her out of the corner of his eye as he backed down the driveway, waiting to see the fire ignite beneath her cheeks. He was not disappointed, and she looked down at her hands.

"They are amazing," she said quietly. "I am very lucky."

She didn't say anymore, looking silently out the passenger window as he drove. The quiet didn't bother him, though he wished he knew what she was thinking. He was happy to listen to the sound of her breathing and the beat of her heart.

"Where are we going?" she asked suddenly, pulling anxiously on the end of her braid.

"Back to Seattle, if that's alright."

"Oh," she said with a frown. "You weren't kidding about the drive." She didn't say anything to explain her expression, leaving him puzzled yet again.

"I have something planned, of course, but if you would rather go somewhere closer…?" he prodded, trying to understand what had displeased her.

"Oh no, no," she said, brushing his arm with her fingertips. "That's not what I meant. I was just thinking that if I'm not very much mistaken, this car could go a bit faster than this." She nodded toward the speedometer.

"Oh," Christopher laughed, relaxing again as her gentle touch soothed his nerves. "It _can_, however I wouldn't think it a good idea to get pulled over on the first date."

Ellie grinned, turning toward him as much as her seat belt would allow. "You will be fine. Trust me?"

"Do you have some kind of built-in radar detector or something?"

Her grin widened, and he could see the flash of mischief behind her eyes. "Something like that."

Christopher stared at her incredulously, but curiosity outweighed caution. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to trust her so he pressed his foot against the accelerator. The engine roared as they pulled away from the traffic around them into the open road.


	9. Chapter 9

Christopher weaved through traffic with ease, following every subtle command Ellie gave as they raced toward the city. She had made good on her promise to get them into the city faster than he would have dared at an hour when the roads were so heavily traveled. Her ability to see gaps among the other cars and warn of police waiting to catch speeders was uncanny.

When he turned into a tiny parking lot near the shore of the bay, he pulled into a space and cut the engine. Ellie had barely looked at him during their journey; focused instead on navigating their route.

She could feel his gaze on her as her eyes scanned their surroundings, now that her brain could relax. She could see the water through the trees that lined a sidewalk a few dozen feet away. Christopher nudged her leg.

"Ellie?"

"Yeah?" Her head turned slowly to face him, and she toyed anxiously with the end of her braid.

"What was that?" He jerked his head back toward the road.

"What was what?" She realized suddenly that she'd never had to explain her gift on her own before. There had always been someone else around to help deliver the strange news.

Christopher's mouth set in a line. He enjoyed their playful flirting, but he didn't like overt evasiveness.

"You know what." His memory was suddenly awash with recollections of her cunning replies, insightful commentary and the strange interactions with her family. He knew he was so close to a crucial piece of her puzzle that he could almost touch it, but still the answer eluded him.

Though they weren't touching, he could feel her tense at the tone of his voice. He took a deep breath, speaking softly this time. "Sorry," he said, "that was harsh."

She shook her head. "It was no worse than what I said to you at the house the other day."

"Still," he continued, "I didn't meant to be so short; but Ellie, that was weird. I couldn't see so far ahead to predict the things you said. How did you see?"

He watched her quietly, aching to reach out and touch her. Her chest rose and fell with deeper breaths, as if she were trying to calm a growing panic.

"Ellie," he murmured, "I promise; you can trust me."

She shifted in her seat, pulling one leg across the other and turning her upper body to face him fully. She stared at him, wide-eyed as if he would be able to see directly into her soul.

"It's not so much what I can see, exactly," she whispered, her eyes still pleading with his for acceptance or forgiveness; he didn't know which. "It's more what I can hear."

* * *

"Is it very difficult for you? To hear so much?"

Though the tone of Christopher's voice was gentle, Ellie was still waiting for a sudden rebuke now that he knew the truth; his thoughts would never be safe as long as she was near.

She let out a long sigh. "Sometimes." She looked up at him. "I can't hear everything, of course. Only what's in someone's mind in the moment – and only if they are fairly close." A small smile spread across her lips. "It's nearly impossible to ignore, for example, when sitting next to someone in a car."

Christopher chuckled. "Point taken. You carry on normal conversation so well. I would imagine it's terribly distracting. Tell me something though…"

"What?" She dropped her hands from her braid, folding them in her lap.

"That's why you haven't asked many questions about me, isn't it?"

Her head tilted to the side. "You haven't given much away, believe it or not," she answered, assuming he thought she had seen the answers already in his mind. Little did he know how curious she really was.

"No, no, that's not what I meant. You looked so nervous when you told me. Did you think I would feel…" he trailed off, shaking his head as he searched for the right word.

"Betrayed? Or like your thoughts weren't safe with me?" Ellie supplied quietly. "It's true you know. I can't offer privacy to anyone I am near."

Christopher didn't speak, but climbed out of the car. Ellie watched, bewildered, as he came around to her side and pulled open the door. He held out his hand, helping her to her feet. He smoothed a stray strand of hair back over her ear, and let his fingertips trail over her cheek.

She inhaled deeply, her eyelids fluttering as she looked up at his face.

"Ellie," he whispered, holding her hands against his chest. "I will happily tell you anything you want to know. And I do not believe that my thoughts are unsafe with you."

His scent drew her closer, and the openness of his mind threatened to overwhelm her. She leaned into him, her palms flat against his sweater, and rose up on the balls of her feet.

He took her face in his hands, his mouth lingering only inches from hers, and inhaled slowly. He hesitated, basking for a moment in the warmth of her breath across his face.

The sound of footsteps startled them both, and he dropped his hands and stepped back. "We should, um," he mumbled reluctantly, nodding toward a small pier with several boats and kayaks tied up to it.

Ellie inhaled sharply, squinting to see the figure that approached. "Right, lead the way." He took one of her hands to lead her forward, but she twisted around as she walked to look around him to for a view of the sign in front of the darkened building. She tugged him back a step and pointed to the hours listed.

"Uh, Christopher? I think it's closed."

Christopher grinned. "Come on," he urged playfully. "You can trust me remember? I swear this won't turn into a Hitchcock movie."

She laughed just as a voice called to them through the dim twilight. "Professor! Is that you?"

Christopher's pace slowed as they neared the end of the pier, where a casually dressed man of maybe twenty waited. "Samuel," he said, reaching for the young man's hand and shaking it firmly. "So sorry to keep you waiting. Thanks again for sticking around."

Samuel shook his head, his gaze darting to where Ellie stood next to Christopher.

"Not a problem, Professor," he said, flashing a smile that threatened to morph into a smirk. "Just make sure to return the boat without any damage."

Christopher chuckled and pulled Ellie against his side. "Will do," he said, "thank your father for me too, if you would, and I will see you in class Monday night."

He waved the boy off, turning to Ellie with a grin. "Shall we, then?"

Ellie watched skeptically with her arms crossed over her chest as Christopher hopped lithely into one of the row boats that lined the pier. He turned to her with a grin, holding out his hand. "Oh come on," he urged. "I won't let you fall in."

She took his hand, but nudged the boat with her foot. "Are you going to keep this thing from sinking too?"

In a move so quick she almost missed it, he scooped her up into his arms, ignoring her squeals of protest.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as the boat shifted violently in the water."Hm. Maybe I should have sprung for the life vests," he joked, rebalancing his weight to account for hers and standing still until the rocking slowed.

"Relax," he breathed against her ear, sending a shiver through her. "I won't let you fall."

She held on tightly even when the wobbling had all but ceased. He set her on her feet, smirking and holding her arms as she gingerly got her footing. "Have you never been in a boat before?"

"I most certainly have," she answered indignantly, sitting down on one of the wooden benches. "Just not one quite this small."

Christopher chuckled and sat down, grabbing the oars and pushing away from the pier.

"Would you rather I'd taken you flying?"

Ellie shuddered, gripping the sides of the boat. "No."

He grinned, looking behind him as he maneuvered the boat to head out into the bay. "Got it. You prefer your feet on the ground, then."

Ellie relaxed her arms, stretching her feet out so they rested under his seat as she watched the pier drift away from them. "Usually." Her head tilted back and she looked toward the sky, watching the heavy patches of gray clouds slowly float over them.

"The boy," Ellie said a few moments later, "he called you 'Professor.'"

Christopher nodded, slowly rowing the small wooden vessel through the peaceful bay.

Ellie squinted back toward the pier. She could still make out the shape of Husky Stadium in the distance. "You teach at the university?"

"I do." He smiled at her, but did not offer any more information. She laughed quietly to herself and looked back out onto the water.

"And what do you teach?"

"Music – theory, composition, that sort of thing," he answered, staring out over the bay as he maneuvered the boat.

Ellie nodded thoughtfully. "How long have you taught?"

Christopher grinned at her. "Here? Or in general?"

"Both," she laughed.

He turned his attention back to the water as he thought, and she waited patiently, mesmerized by the soft swishing sound of the oars gracefully slicing through the water. She was grateful that he'd rolled his sleeves up to his elbows so she could watch his forearm muscles flex beneath his pale white skin. Her eyes flicked back to his face when she heard him take in a long breath to speak.

"I've taught for many years over the last century or so," he replied softly. "I moved here about two years ago."

She pressed her palms against the small bench she sat on, leaning in closer as he spoke.

"And where are you from originally?"

"Boston." He pulled the oars up out of the water, and laid them down in the boat beside their feet. Ellie tilted her head curiously as he cautiously scooted himself forward, careful not to jostle the boat. He rested his hands against the sides of her legs, brushing the pads of his thumb over her kneecaps and his fingertips along the bend in her knees. "Are you going to ask me how old I am, Eleanor?"

"I was getting there."

He leaned forward as she had done; his face close enough that she could feel his breath wisp against her cheeks. She smiled, a warm shiver tickling her spine. She raised her eyebrows expectantly.

His smiled again, but this time she could see the reluctance in his eyes. "I was born in 1752."

"And you were turned…?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking up at the sky. "Um…in 1780." When his gaze met hers again, she was staring with wide eyes, and he realized she had seen the memories her question called to mind.

She blushed apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's hard to ignore…"

He shook his head. "No, it's fine. I…want you to know. I just worry that…" he trailed off, once again finding himself at a loss for words.

"That I will think you're too old for me?" she joked, having seen that this was part of his fear, despite his attempt to conceal the thought. "If it makes you feel any better, my dad was born about a century before you, and turned my mother less than 100 years ago."

"Ah." He leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees and one hand on Ellie's leg, absently running his finger along the edge of her dress. "So," he breathed, staring into her blue eyes again, "not too weird?"

She placed her hand over his, weaving her fingers between his. "No," she smiled, tilting her head to the side. "Not too weird."

With her free hand, she reached out to touch his face, tracing the shape of his eyebrow, and the faint circle under his eye. The night had grown darker, and a sliver of moonlight had broken through the clouds. The red in his iris sparkled back at her as it caught the light.

"Your eyes…" she whispered, turning her attention to the other side of his face. His brow furrowed.

"They are quite monstrous aren't they? It's what I hate the most, you know," he murmured. "In the early days, after I realized what I was, I used to let myself be hungry far too long, just to keep the red away."

Ellie smiled, leaning forward to get close enough to press a gentle kiss against the outside corner of his left eye. "I was going to say they are quite beautiful." She leaned back again to see his face and blushed at his stunned expression.

She looked down at her lap. His grip on her hand had tightened when her lips brushed against his skin, and his touch burned like cold fire. "I've never seen eyes like yours up close before."

"Your family's," he said softly, "they were different."

Ellie nodded. "We don't hunt humans."

Her answer intrigued him – he'd assumed the explanation must have had to do with an unusual way of feeding, and he had often wondered himself about alternate sources of blood.

"Really?" Ellie asked, responding automatically to his thoughts as he recalled times when he'd considered feeding on animals.

He shrugged. "The idea has crossed my mind, on occasion." As he spoke, his eyes were drawn to the shape of her mouth and the way her tongue darted out to wet her lips. He suddenly found himself very disinterested in the subject of vampire diets.

"That is perhaps, a discussion for another time," he whispered, tilting his head slightly to the side. His eyes met hers and he felt her pulling herself closer.

"Mm," she murmured, spreading her fingers out over his cheek and jaw, reaching back into his hairline. She combed her fingers back into his curls lightly scratching her nails against his scalp. Her eyes never looked away from his, their stares out of focus as the pull between became too much.

He remembered what she had said before, and waited for her to close the distance. His entire body felt heated simply from her proximity, and the warmth turned to flames deep within his stomach when he finally felt the first brush of her lips against his.


	10. Chapter 10

What had started as a gentle whisper of a kiss quickly escalated into a combined need that seared them both from every touch point. The sound of Ellie's heart hammering in her chest echoed in Christopher's ears as he savored the feeling of her lips yielding to his, and the flavor of her hot breath in his mouth as hers opened to him.

Ellie needed to breathe, but each time she tried to twist away to catch a breath, his mouth would capture hers again and she couldn't find the urge to resist. It was only when her head started to spin that oxygen again became a priority to her body. His fingertips traced her jawline as she forced herself away just far enough to suck in several frantic breaths.

Cradling her face in one large hand, he tilted her chin upward, exposing the length of her neck. He met her gaze with an alluring smile; a shudder running through him at the sight of her heavy-lidded stare. His mouth found the supple skin of her bare throat and a soft grunt of pleasure slipped from her deep within her chest as his cold tongue traced the path of her pulsing artery.

"I thought you said this was a bad idea," Christopher purred into the base of her throat.

"I think I said it might not be a good idea," she panted, grabbing at his hair and frantically trying to bring his face back to hers. Her lips hunted along his neck and jaw until reaching their goal. "But good ideas are overrated anyway."

He pulled her into his lap so that she sat with her legs across his thighs, careful not to disrupt the distribution of weight in the boat.

He locked his arms around her, with one hand holding the back of her head while the other slipped beneath her jacket to stroke her back. She flicked her tongue out against his upper lip before suckling it between her teeth, earning a low growl from deep within his throat. His hand slid down her back, along her ribs and waist and over the curve of her bottom. He curled his fingers, retracing the path and thrilling at the slight give of her flesh beneath her clothes.

Her hands slipped from his hair to his shoulders, clutching at him as if he were the only thing keeping her from falling off a cliff. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a nagging thought forced its way into her consciousness – that maybe, she'd already fallen.

Ellie jerked away without warning, gasping for breath, leaning away from him slightly with her hands sliding to his chest. Confused by her sudden withdrawal, Christopher kept her cradled in his arms as she caught her breath, stroking her hair until she relaxed her head down onto his shoulder. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"Sorry," she whispered when breathing became less difficult, "needed some air."

He let out a hoarse chuckle. "Don't apologize." She closed her eyes, keeping her hands around his midsection and listening to the steady in-and-out of his breathing. "In fact, I probably should be the one to do that."

"To do what?" Ellie picked her head up to see his face.

He shrugged. "Apologize. I shouldn't have let that get so out of hand."

Ellie rolled her eyes and leaned against his shoulder again. "Please. I'm a consenting adult, you know. I knew exactly what I was doing."

Christopher chuckled again, and Ellie couldn't help but giggle at the joke that came into his mind. She poked his ribs, still laughing.

"I'm sorry," he snickered. "I'm just saying I never doubted that you knew what you were doing. You made that rather clear." He didn't have to see her face to know she was blushing – he could feel her skin growing warmer even through his shirt and sweater.

Her giggles subsided and they sat holding each other in comfortable silence as fat raindrops began to fall from the sky. The droplets fell like rocks into the water, creating transient craters. Ellie craned her neck to look up at the sky, letting the rain hit her face.

"Damn it," Christopher growled. "I'm sorry, Ellie. I should have paid closer attention to the forecast."

"It's fine," she said soothingly, leaning back against his chest. "I don't mind the rain. It's so beautiful out here, I don't really want to leave yet."

"Well you might mind getting struck by lightening." He pointed to the flashing storm cloud off in the distance, still several miles away. "I don't want to have to explain that to your parents."

Ellie snorted. "Fair point." She started to disentangle herself from his hold, but his arms tightened around her.

"Where are you going?"

She pointed with her nose toward the other seat. "There. So you can steer the boat." She twisted around to look at his face, biting her lip when he frowned.

"Oh. Hm…" He slid over and set her down next to him. He reached down to pick up the two oars, holding them together in one hand as he positioned his right arm around her.

She held out her hands. "Do you want me to take one of those?"

"No, I've got it."

She missed the feeling of him wrapped around her, so she wove her arms around his waist, careful not to hold too tightly and impede his movement. Neither of them spoke as he paddled them back to shore; instead she watched the rain as it fell over them.

* * *

Back on the pier, Christopher held a hand over his eyes to see through the rain.

"Come on!" he shouted over the booming thunder that was getting closer. "The car's this way!"

She grabbed his hand and jerked him backward. "Christopher! We can't get in your car like this!"

He turned to her, holding his hands out to his sides in confusion. "Why not?"

"Look at us! We're soaked! It will ruin the seats!"

Ellie may not have cared about cars the way Rosalie did, but she was not about to be responsible for ruining his car's classic interior. He doubled over with his hands on his knees, laughing incredulously.

"Fine," he sputtered. "We'll run then – I only live a few blocks away. We can dry off there."

Without warning in his words or thoughts, he pulled her close, scooping her up into his arms.

"Christopher!" He silenced her squealed protest with a soft kiss. "I can run you know," she grumbled quietly when he pulled away.

"But I can run faster than you, even with you in my arms."

She linked her arms around his neck and brushed the tip of her nose along the base of his throat, inhaling deeply.

"Run," she whispered against his neck, "and I will make sure we aren't seen."

Ellie was grateful that Christopher kept to darkened alleys and side streets where it would be unlikely for them to be spotted amidst the pouring rain. She tried to concentrate, listening for approaching minds as he ran them through the storm, but her senses were too overwhelmed to focus on anything but him.

His arms around her were iron strong but intensely tender. His scent, intensified by the warm summer rain, filled her head, and she shivered at the memory of the taste of his tongue against her. She found herself struggling to resist an inexplicable urge to lick the tiny droplets of water off his slick skin.

Her heartbeat began to race again, and she watched the muscles in his jaw twitch as the galloping rhythm registered in his mind.

"Are you okay?" he murmured. They'd come to a stop in a dark alley, just a few dozen feet from his street. He set her on her feet, holding her waist with one hand, and tilting her chin up with the other so he could see her face. She nodded, not trusting her own voice.

He smiled, concentrating on the way her lower lip stuck out in a tempting little pout. Resisting the urge to kiss her again, he took her hand and led her around the corner. Together they took cover under a large canopy covering the front entrance what she assumed was his building.

He found himself suddenly nervous, turning to her and running a hand anxiously through his hair.

"Well, Miss Cullen," he said, offering her his arm. "Would you like to come upstairs?"


	11. Chapter 11

Christopher led Ellie through the lobby, and the elevator doors opened with barely a touch of his finger against the call button. They stood together facing the doors as they slid shut, and a giggle that Ellie had tried hard to repress escaped from her lips.

His fingers slipped between hers and gave a gentle squeeze. "Is something funny?"

She shook her head; her heart hammered within her chest at his touch.

"Er, no." She pressed her teeth into her lip to hold back a smile, but the effort was futile. The corners of her mouth quirked upward anyway.

"Well, maybe a little," she conceded. "The doorman was making a mental note to rat you out to the home-owners' association about all the water we tracked in."

"I guess I will have to make a nice donation to the Christmas décor fund this year."

He chuckled to himself as he punched one of the buttons to his left. Ellie didn't look at him, instead keeping her eyes trained on a small dent in the elevator door; a detail that had probably gone unnoticed to the eyes of the building's human residents. She felt the carriage slow; a soft ding indicated that they had arrived at their destined floor.

When the doors opened, Ellie could hear the rain as it poured against the wide windows on the opposite end of the hallway. Christopher slipped a key into the lock of a unit located on the far end of the corridor and turned to her with a smile. He waited for a moment until she finally looked him in the eye.

With one hand pressed to the small of her back, he guided her through the door. They stepped into the dark entryway, and Ellie didn't notice that he was no longer behind her as her curiosity drew her forward. Flashes of light from the storm outside briefly illuminating the walls past a sharp bend in the hallway.

"Go on in," Christopher murmured. "I will get the lights."

"What?" Her sodden braid whipped over her shoulder as she turned her head to see where he stood facing a small section of tile on the wall. It wasn't just tile, she realized, as an electronic screen illuminated, casting an odd bluish tint off of Christopher's pale skin. The sensual sweep of his fingertips over the screen reminded her of how he'd gently caressed her face, and she could feel the heat of her blush beneath her cold, wet clothes.

With just a few more passes of his hand across the screen, light flooded the apartment. She blinked and as her eyes adjusted, she suddenly found him in front of her, standing only a few insignificant inches away.

"Lights." Her gaze trained on the shape of his mouth as they formed the single word. With his head still tilted, his hand slowly rose to her face. Ellie's lips parted in anticipation as the pad of his thumb ghosted over them. Remembering that she was still still as drenched as he was, he instead turned his attention to helping her out of her soaked jacket. He hung it up on a closet doorknob, unconcerned that it would drip on the floor, and took her hand.

"This way."

Around the corner, the rest of his home finally came into view. "The bathroom is upstairs," he said softly, gesturing toward the dark gray steps that rose from the marble floor to his left. "I can find you something dry to wear if you want…"

He paused, realizing she wasn't listening. She dropped his hand and walked boldly into the open living room.

"This is gorgeous," she purred, turning in a slow circle and taking in her surroundings. The apartment was decorated in neutral grays and beiges, with dark floors and accents all around.

Warm light framed a massive panoramic window that took up the entire wall space on the far end of the room, revealing a stunning view of the stormy night over the bay. Flames danced seductively from an electric fireplace along the adjacent wall of narrow marble tile.

Christopher walked slowly toward her, inexplicably thrilled to watch her standing in his home. He watched, still a few feet away, as she stood before the fireplace, struggling to keep from staring at the way her dress clung to her body. It was only when she looked over her shoulder with eyes wide with what he selfishly hoped was a longing like his own, that he remembered she could hear his every thought.

"I'm sorry," she said, speaking the words that had just sprung to his own mind, "you were saying something before."

"Right." He cleared his throat and glanced back toward the stairs. "I can show you where the bathroom is, if you want to take off...er…I mean, if you want to change."

She smiled at his awkward stammer, folding her arms over her chest with a delicate shiver. "Lead the way."

* * *

Ellie shut the bathroom door behind her, leaning against it and taking a few slow deep breaths. Between his thoughts and her own, her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. She held one hand against her sternum, willing her body to regain control.

"There are towels in the cabinet," Christopher called through the door. She could hear the soft shift of fabric as he left clothes on the floor outside. "Hang your things up in there, and I can put them in the dryer once they aren't quite so drenched."

She waited until he walked away before opening the door a crack and grabbing the things he'd left. Her dress fell heavily to the ground as she slipped the straps off her shoulders and shoved down past her hips. She picked it up, hanging it over the side of the large, elevated soaking tub.

Glancing around the bathroom for the cabinet that looked most likely to contain the bath towels, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She laughed at the girl in the mirror – soaking wet hair falling out of a messy braid, stripped down to her underwear in the home of a man who she'd barely known three days.

"Do I get to hear the joke?"

Ellie jumped at the sound of Christopher's voice through a second door she hadn't noticed before on the opposite end of the bathroom. A quick flash of his thoughts in his mind told her that the door led directly into his bedroom. She closed her eyes as if that would help her and tried to force his thoughts from her mind.

"Ellie?" He knocked this time, concerned that there'd been no answer. "Are you okay in there?"

She scrambled to grab a towel and wrapped it around herself, as if he could see through the door. "Yes! Sorry, I will be right out."

He chuckled and Ellie braced herself with a hand against the wall; the sound literally made her knees buckle. She swore under her breath. _Get it together, Ellie._

The damned rain had almost literally soaked her through to the bone, so she summoned her courage and stripped her under things off, laying them along side her dress.

Moments later, with another deep breath or three, she wrenched the bathroom door open with more force than necessary. She glanced at the hinges to make sure hadn't done any unintended damage. She shook her arms out, trying to rid herself of the nervous flutters in her stomach. With eyes closed, she found his thoughts with ease. He stood in the living room with his back to the stairs, staring into the fire.

* * *

Christopher stood in the living room, idly watching the fire as he waiting for Ellie to reappear. When he finally heard the bathroom door shut and her lithe gait on the steps he let out a long breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. He waited until he could almost feel the warmth that radiated off her skin before he turned around.

He felt his mouth drop starting to open when he saw her, and it took all his concentration to keep from gaping. He'd seen her dressed casually before, but the sight of her in his clothes wrecked him a way he couldn't have prepared for.

"Hi," she whispered, fidgeting with the hem of the dark blue t-shirt, which she had tied into a knot on her right hip, revealing a few tantalizing inches of her midriff. The drawstring on the sweat pants he'd found – an old pair that had shrunk a bit over the years – was pulled taut to keep them around her hips, and she rolled the legs up a few times. Her hair was still damp, but hung straight down her back.

She blushed, and she raked her fingers through the strands. "I hope you don't mind…" she murmured. "I wasn't like, prying or anything, but I found a brush and my hair was a disaster…"

Christopher crossed the distance between them, unable to stand the few feet that separated them any longer. His hands found purchase on her hips and he stooped down so his face was level with hers. He didn't wait for her reaction, he felt like he was pulled to her like magnets. Her arms encircled him as his mouth covered hers; devouring her with a greedy need that she was only too happy to feed.

He started the kiss, but it was Ellie who again had to end it, her chest heaving against his as she rested her cheek against his sternum.

"I keep forgetting," he murmured into her hair, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame.

A breathy laugh rose from her throat. She leaned back to look up at him, one hand now on his chest; her fingers drawing aimless patterns along his shirt.

"Sometimes needing to breathe is really inconvenient."

Christopher touched her cheek with the back of one hand, stroking her flushed skin once with an impossibly light touch. He leaned down and let his lips graze over hers only once.

"Well even still, I will try to behave better." He watched as her lips curled up into a wistful smile. "Ellie?"

"Yes?" She blinked up at him, her blue eyes sparkling in the soft shadows from the firelight.

"Will you dance with me?"

She hadn't noticed the music playing in the background before his question. Ellie wouldn't have said no even he had waited for her answer; she wanted nothing more than to stay wrapped in his arms. As he led them in a slow circle, her feet following his, she leaned into his chest, closing her eyes and letting her senses be overcome.

"The music is beautiful," she whispered into his shirt. "What is it?" The symphony of voices that softly filled the room was unaccompanied by any instruments that her ears could detect.

"An A cappella choir that I directed a few years back," he said, spinning them around again. "They were quite easily the most talented group of young people I've ever worked with."

"These are kids?" Ellie looked up at him in disbelief and he nodded with a smile.

"They were in high school. It was an extracurricular choir. They were so much fun." He shook his head wistfully. "Anyway, they were all extraordinarily talented, so I decided to help them produce a CD of their best performances. They decided to sell them and to use the proceeds to set up a small scholarship fund."

Ellie listened to his words and thoughts in awe. "Oh, wow." She was about to ask more questions, but his hand captured her chin, firmly but gently tilting her face up to his.

"I will be happy to tell you about that or anything else, Ellie. But another time, if that's okay."

His eyes were dark, and for the first time since they'd met, he looked truly like an immortal to Ellie. A shiver ran down her spine, but she knew there was no danger. Her hand rose to his face, and he turned his head to kiss her palm. His lips moved over her wrist, his tongue lightly sweeping over the space where he could feel her pulse under the thin skin.

"Ellie," he groaned quietly. "I'm sorry." He turned her hand over and kissed her knuckles, then held her palm back against his cheek. When his gaze met hers, the gentle understanding he saw in her eyes nearly overwhelmed him.

"I don't want to push you. I don't even understand what is happening; I've never felt this before."

His voice shook as he spoke, and Ellie pulled herself closer. "Christopher…" She wanted to tell him that she didn't feel pushed, and she didn't understand the pull between them any better than he did.

"No, Ellie," he gasped. "I mean it. I just…if you could just stay…tonight. Please. That's all I'm asking. Nothing more."

Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck and stood up on the tips of her toes. Her breath fanned over his face. "Christopher," she breathed. "Take me upstairs."


	12. Chapter 12

Ellie jolted awake, startled out of a sound sleep by a violent crack of thunder. Her heart pounded through her chest and the building shook.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light from the dying embers smoldering in a fireplace to the left of the bed. Christopher's scent swirled around her, but she found herself alone in the strange room. She closed her eyes, listening to the unfamiliar noises that surrounded her, and a sigh of relief slipped through her lips as she heard his bare feet on the stairs.

As his footsteps got closer, she looked down at herself, naked and tangled in bedclothes. Suddenly feeling inexplicably awkward, she climbed out of the king-sized bed and padded toward one of the massive windows, keeping the stark white sheet wrapped around her. She raised one hand to the glass pane, peering out into the stormy night. The feeling of the cool glass under her palm was shocking yet familiar, and her mind filled with memories of Christopher's skin against hers.

The rhythm of the rain pounding against the bay lulled her tired mind until another burst of lightening erupted in the sky with a crack of thunder right behind it. Ellie jumped back, crying out in surprise when she collided with Christopher, who had silently crept up behind her.

His reflection stared back at her, and she could see his amusement made plain on his face. "Sorry," he whispered, his arms circling her waist. He tugged the sheet off her shoulder, kissing the exposed skin. "Didn't mean to frighten you."

She leaned back against him, melting immediately at his touch. He smiled against her skin, relishing the sound of her frantic heartbeat, and the subtle skip in the galloping rhythm as the tip of his tongue traced her collarbone. His hands moved to her hips, spinning her around to face him. With one finger under her chin, he gently tilted her face upward.

"I'm sorry for not being there when you woke. I just went to put your things in the dryer."

Ellie bit her lip, tugging the sheet more tightly against her chest. "Right. Of course." She let out an uneasy giggle. "Hard to make the walk of shame in sopping wet clothes."

His body tensed around her, and she watched in horror as his brow furrowed and his smile straightened into a tight, thin line. She cursed her impulsive mouth, silently begging the universe to take back the joke, or at the very least for the floor to swallow her whole where she stood.

"Walk of shame?" He had spent too many years teaching college students to not know the meaning of the phrase, but he didn't understand why she would say such a thing. "Do you think I am going to kick you out at first light?"

She looked down at the floor, and turned back toward the window. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting off the impulse to snap back at him out of her own embarrassment.

"I...you asked me to stay the night..."

_Nothing more_, they both remembered his words. Christopher sighed, wishing he'd been able to find words to express the ways he was sure that his life would be forever altered by her existence.

"Ellie," he murmured, "I know you can hear what I am thinking. Does it sound like I want you to leave?" Waiting for her to answer, his hands closed over her hips and he pressed his chest to her back.

She shook her head, and with a trembling hand, reached up to touch his cheek, craning her neck to chance a look at his face. Her eyes widened in surprise at the intensity of his stare. Even with only the shallow light from the fireplace, Ellie could have sworn she saw his eyes darken as she met his gaze.

"Do you want to leave?" The words rankled in his mind like blasphemy, but whatever the pain it caused him, he vowed to himself that he would respect her choice. Again she shook her head.

His eyes trained on the curve of her neck and he slid one hand up from her hip, over her ribs. He took hold of a fistful of the sheet below where her hands clutched the fabric tightly to her chest and gave a slight pull.

"Ellie," he breathed, brushing his lips against her throat. She shivered as the slight stubble on his chin tickled her skin. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"Um…" At that moment, all she could think of was his breath on her neck, and the way the sheet was slowly slipping from between her fingers as he tugged ever so lightly against her grip. Her other hand reached past his hairline to the back of his head, her fingers tangling in his curls. His hand on her hip slid inward until his palm rested possessively against her lower abdomen, his fingertips slipping between an opening in the sheet to brush against her bare skin. He smiled when his touch made her shiver, and his lips slowly traveled up to her cheek.

"Are we thinking about the same thing?" His coarse whisper dropped into a low growl and he called to mind his memory of how she felt wrapped in his arms. He let go of the sheet, resting his hand just below the base of her throat and sliding down the middle of her chest, pausing directly over her pounding heart.

Ellie's head tilted back farther and she turned her face toward his with lips parted, her breasts heaving with panted breaths. When his mouth finally covered hers, a low groan vibrated from her throat, and she twisted in his arms. As he lifted her off the ground and walked them backward toward the bed, Ellie let her nagging doubt fall away like the sheet that now lay in a wrinkled pile on the floor.

* * *

Ellie felt like she was drowning, but it wasn't water that filled her lungs. Even in her dreams, her senses were overcome; her mind swirling with the sensations that all amounted to the same thing: him. The sight of him gracefully, tenderly, lowering over her body enthralled her; his muscled frame holding her captive beneath him. The taste of his skin on her tongue, and the whispered words of longing in her ears made her wild with an inhuman need to be made his. Every nerve felt like fire at his touch, and she begged helplessly for more.

As consciousness made its slow return, she smiled against his bare skin, pressing a kiss to the center of his chest. Her eyes fluttered open and his hands tangled in her hair, helpfully shifting the knotted mess off her face as she kissed her way up his sternum. His nails scratched against her scalp and she flicked her tongue out, licking the hollow of his throat.

"Good morning," she whispered, pressing her forehead to his and curling a lock of his hair around one index finger. Her brows pulled together as her eyes adjusted to the sunshine that now filled the room. "Is it still morning?"

His chest rumbled beneath her. "Barely," he chuckled.

Her lips quirked into a crooked grin when his hands slid from her hair, down her back until he reached her bottom. She squirmed against him as his hands cupped her soft flesh.

He picked his head up from the pillow to press a soft kiss to her lips. Thousands of questions lingered in his mind, and nothing at all made sense, except for her. He couldn't deny the thrill of victory that coursed through him to see her eyes clear, free of the fear that plagued her only hours before.

"Now _this_ is how I'd hoped you would wake up for the first time in my bed."

A sliver of sunlight forced its way between thick clouds, streaming through the wide windows that filled the bedroom. A faint shimmer spread across her shoulder. His index finger traced the space on her skin, frowning at the contrast when his hand caught the light.

"What's wrong?" Ellie's head tilted to the side, noticing the sudden change in his expression.

Christopher shrugged, smoothing his fingers over her worried brow. "Oh it's nothing, really. I was just hoping I would have been able to take you out to breakfast, if the cloud cover held out long enough."

He watched, stroking her cheek as her mouth formed a small 'o' in surprise. "Well," she murmured a moment later, her fingers dancing lightly along his chest and to his stomach. A long hiss slipped through his teeth as her hand continued lower. "I guess we could just stay here, and try again tomorrow?"

A rumble erupted from deep within his chest and he rolled them over, hitching one of her legs up against his hip, and holding both of her wrists above her head. She squealed with surprise, but she eagerly lifted her hips to meet his.

"Ms. Cullen," he growled, "that is an _excellent_ plan."


	13. Chapter 13

"Hello, Alice," Ellie answered brightly, picking up the cellphone on the first ring.

She scraped from a plate a few crumbs that remained of the lunch she had fixed for herself while Christopher was out. He had insisted that she make herself at home and had picked up some groceries since he'd guessed that hunting would be a challenge while staying in the city.

She shifted the phone between her ear and shoulder and lifted the faucet handle up, rinsing the plate.

"Oh thank god," Alice snapped, "you are alive."

Ellie sighed and shut the water off, letting the plate clatter in the sink.

"Yes, Alice. Of course I'm alive." She wiped her hands with a dishrag and threw it on the counter. "Surely you knew that, since I have talked to Mom twice in the last three days."

Alice clucked her tongue disapprovingly and Ellie pulled the phone away from her ear, silently and slowly counting to five before speaking again.

"Is there something specific you wanted to discuss?"

"Don't be coy, Ellie. It's not cute." Ellie growled but Alice took no notice, plunging ahead. "You know how this looks right? You left town before because of a guy—"

"Now hang on a second—"

"No, Ellie. You left town after Nahuel with barely a word of explanation, and now you've practically moved in with a vampire – and not even a vegetarian vampire, might I add – that you haven't even known for a week!"

"Damn it Alice!" Ellie smacked her palm down on the cold countertop. "Stop it. That isn't fair. Do you think I planned any of this? Or are you just pissed off because you can't see it all first."

Ellie winced at her sister's loud hiss into the phone, regretting the low blow instantly. "Alice, I'm sorry…"

"Ellie," Alice cut her off, "you can't just disappear again. Carlisle, Esme…they deserve better than that."

"I know that. And I'm not disappearing. We are coming tonight to spending the weekend. Didn't Mom tell you that?"

She tugged anxiously on the edge of the t-shirt she'd stolen from one of Christopher's drawers and pictured the way her sister would have her thin arms crossed over her chest as she grunted in response.

"You know I never want to hurt any of you. But," Ellie's voice dropped into a shaky whisper, "Alice…I think I love him."

"Well of course you do," she replied as if Ellie had just told her that she had ten toes. "That was completely obvious…"

Alice rambled on, but Ellie was no longer listening. The sound of shopping bags dropping on the floor made her jump, and she whirled around to find Christopher standing beside the stairs, a bemused grin on his face.

"Alice, I've gotta go," Ellie choked, snapping the phone shut without waiting for a response and tossing it on the counter like it burned to the touch. Her front teeth pressed hard into her lip and she stared down at the ground, fighting her oncoming panic.

"Hey," she said, trying to sound casual as she brushed her toe along the line of grout between the floor tiles. "I didn't hear you come in."

"What did you say?" She could hear the smile in his voice, and her heart skipped a beat or three in another attempt to burst through her ribcage.

"Um, I said I didn't hear you..."

She trailed off and he shook his head, stepping over the bags that lay scattered on the floor and around the counter that separated them. Even when he stood right in front of her, she refused to look him in the eye.

"Ellie." He grabbed one of her hands and cupped the side of her face, stooping to her height to force her to look at him. "Say it again."

The husky command made all of her nerves stand on end. "Christopher," she whispered. She was breathing too fast again, sucking in gulps of air soaked by his scent. Her head swam and it felt like all of her muscles lost their ability to hold her upright. She leaned back against the counter and he took a step closer.

"If you say it, I will say it back," he growled softly, his lips pressed to her ear. "Promise."

Her eyes fluttered closed as a new flood of tingles danced through her from her back to her stomach and below. The dark behind her eyelids made her feel like she was only one step away from falling into a deep abyss. With a deep breath in, and with a delirious smile, she decided it was time to jump.

"I love you."

When she opened her eyes, she couldn't take them off of Christopher's smile. She felt his fingers on her face, and watched his lips form the reply he spoke like a solemn vow.

"And I love you, Eleanor Cullen."

* * *

Christopher smiled and kissed the back of Ellie's head as she hummed happily, settling against him with her back pressed to his chest. He linked his hands over her stomach beneath the throw blanket that covered them as they lay on the wide sofa. Outside the living room window, the clouds had broken up just enough to reveal a magnificent array of colors in the sky as the sun made its descent.

"I guess we should be going soon, huh?"

Ellie's fingers fluttered absently over his, the soothing sound of his voice barely registering as she stared out into the encroaching twilight.

"Go where?"

Christopher chuckled, tickling the space below her ribcage to get her attention. "To your parents' house, love."

"Oh, right," she groaned, moving to disentangle herself enough to sit up and lean against the back of the sofa. As Christopher sat up beside her, Ellie found herself distracted by the way the edge of the blanket fell away from his stomach, draping haphazardly across his thighs.

"We could just stay here if you like," he offered, tucking a strand of hair over her ear. "But your sister sounded quite upset on the phone earlier…"

"She was just being melodramatic." Ellie tossed her hair over her shoulder with a dismissive snort. "And intrusive. And presumptuous." She grabbed the back of the couch and shifted to her knees, turning to face Christopher. "And just rude."

Christopher slid closer; attempting to pull her into a hug to calm the burgeoning panic he could see in her eyes. She poked his chest.

"This is what we are walking into, Chris."

His head cocked to the side. "What? What is what we're walking into?"

"My family! They are crazy. And loud. And interfering." Her arms flailed wildly at her sides before she dropped her hands back to her legs with a loud slap. "The phrase 'boundary-issues' doesn't even begin to describe us."

Christopher covered her hands and squeezed, leaning forward to kiss the puckered space between her eyebrows.

"Sounds like a houseful of my students," he joked, softly touching the tip of his nose to hers. Her breath fanned across his face with the sound of a hard short laugh.

"I mean it, Chris," she mumbled, laying her head on his shoulder. He smiled at the casual, familiar way she shortened his name. "What if we get there and ... what if it's too much and…"

Christopher pulled her up so she sat facing him in his lap, silencing her panicked rant with a kiss. "Ellie," he murmured, holding her face in his hands. "Are you afraid they will scare me off?"

She stared at a freckle on his cheek as she tried to blink back tears, sheepishly nodding her head.

His lips brushed against her cheekbone, and with the tip of his tongue he lapped up a tiny droplet that had fallen from her damp lashes.

"My darling, do I look like I scare that easily?"

She anchored her hands into his back, pressing her chest against his. He felt her lips form her whispered "no" as she hunted along his skin for his mouth, seeking the comfort of his kiss. He obliged eagerly, gently urging her mouth open to him and caressing her back with long, slow strokes up and down her spine.

"Ellie." Her name erupted in a growl that vibrated from his throat into hers. He pulled away, suckling her lower lip before resting his forehead against hers again. "I want you. I love you. And if your crazy family loves you, too, then they couldn't possibly scare me away."

He wrapped her into his embrace, letting his breathing slow in time with hers, and listening to the gradual calming of her heart.

After a few moments, her body had relaxed to the point that he was sure she would fall asleep if he let her. "Are you ready to get dressed?"

All he heard was a huff, but she slowly climbed to her feet, clinging tightly to one of his hands. Turning toward the stairs, the forgotten shopping bags caught her eye.

"Chris?"

"Mm?"

"What's in the bags?"

* * *

Christopher stole a sideways glance at his quiet passenger as the nearly empty highway stretched out before them. He watched her hands smooth the cream-colored skirt against her legs and caught a small smile spreading across her face as she registered his attention.

He cleared his throat, his eyes refocusing on the road. "Are you sure you didn't mind?"

"Didn't mind what?" Her index finger brushed over the tensed muscles in his forearm.

"The clothes. I hope it wasn't too…pushy or forward," he explained for at least the sixth time since he explained that he'd had a personal shopper at one of the department stores pick out some items for her to keep at the apartment. "I knew you were anxious about going back and thought it might be easier on you if you, you know, didn't go back in the same dress you left in…"

Ellie threw her head back and laughed. "Christopher, no one in my family is under any illusions about how we have been spending our time. Trust me." Her fingers smoothed over his arm, giving a gentle squeeze. "And I told you before. I think it was very sweet. I appreciate the thought."

She pulled her hand away and tapped her chin with her index finger. "I am curious, however, about what's in the bag you wouldn't let me open."

A wicked grin spread across her face when it seemed his mind might finally slip and give her a clue. Catching on, he cleared his head at once. He grinned back at her and shook his head, taking hold of her hand and bringing it to his face.

_Ah, ah, ah, cheater_. He turned her hand and pressed his lips to her wrist, gunning the accelerator and winking as he drew his tongue over where her pulse pounded through the thin skin. "That is for later."


	14. Chapter 14

Gravel crunched under the tires as Christopher pulled onto the shoulder mere feet from the edge of the Cullen's property and let his foot ease up on the accelerator. Shifting into park when they'd slowed to a stop, he turned to Ellie.

"Are you ready?"

"No," she replied, "but they know we are here so..."

He nodded. "Onward, then." He shifted the car back into gear and parked in front of the garage as Ellie instructed. Pulling the key from the ignition, he whipped around the car to her door, opening it slowly. Her brilliant smile nearly erased all evidence of her worry.

"Thank you," she said, accepting his extended hand.

Christopher followed Ellie up the front steps, and before she could reach for the handle of the door, it opened. Esme Cullen stood to the side, smiling and shooing them over the threshold.

"I've asked them all to give you a few minutes to settle in before they descend," Esme said as she hugged her daughter, answering the question written all over Ellie's face. When Ellie untangled herself from her mother's embrace, Esme looked over at Christopher with a wink. "But I wouldn't expect them to hold to that for very long."

Ellie blushed at an unspoken postscript. "Mom!" she hissed, the flush across her cheeks deepening as Esme laughed quietly to herself. She stepped around her daughter, standing before Christopher with her arms extended.

"Christopher." She reached up to hug him as well, carefully maneuvering around her the bags slung over his shoulder and clutched in his hand. When Esme stepped back, she kept her hands on his forearms. "Please make yourself at home. You are so very welcome here."

He couldn't doubt the sincerity of her words, in fact he found her so intensely genuine that it took him slightly aback. "Thank you," he mumbled awkwardly, clearing his throat and glancing back to Ellie.

"Mom," Ellie said, pulling her mother by the arm and flashing an encouraging smile at Christopher. Esme's looked over her shoulder at Ellie as she nodded toward Christopher with a meaningful look.

"Oh I'm sorry," Esme said with a jovial laugh. She let go of Christopher and waved them off toward the stairs. "I am overwhelming you myself, aren't I?"

Christopher shook his head. "Not at all, Mrs. Cullen. Thank you."

"Oh goodness," she scoffed with another wave of her hand. "Please call me Esme."

A few moments later they'd escaped to Ellie's room and Christopher dropped their luggage beside the bed. He turned around at the sound of muffled giggling as she shut the bedroom door.

"What are you laughing at over there?"

She turned on her heel with her mouth shut in a tight line. He could see how the muscles in her face twitched, fighting her attempt at control.

He darted across the room, holding her slim hips in his hands. "Ellie," he breathed, brushing his nose against her neck. "Are you laughing at me?" He looked back at her and she shook her head. "Ellie."

He pinched her rear and the last vestige of her control cracked. She burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

Several moments passed as he waited. His incredulous expression only fueled her laughter further. When she finally began to regain some composure, she held her stomach and touched one of his forearms.

"I'm sorry," she choked, swallowing another giggle.

"What did I do?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, nothing. Just, the 'Mrs. Cullen,' and the look of sheer terror on your face when she hugged you." She held her fist to her mouth, pressing her teeth into her finger to quell another outburst.

"I wasn't expecting all that, Ellie." His arms crossed over his chest and his brow furrowed with irritation. "You know I'm not used to any of this."

Ellie's laughter suddenly ceased. "Oh, Chris, I'm sorry," she gasped, having caught the full breadth of his frustration in his thoughts. She tugged him back to her and pulled him into her embrace. "Really, baby." She stretched up on the tips of her toes and kissed his jaw.

She held her breath until he met her gaze, uncrossing his arms and weaving them around her waist. His head tilted upward and her lips trailed along the length of his neck. She retraced the path with her tongue.

"Forgive me?" she whispered. The heat from her breath tickled the skin just below his ear.

His grip tightened and he lifted her off her feet with a growl. With one hand securely holding her against him, he took hold of her head with his other hand and brought her face to his. His lips covered hers and her mouth opened to him with the slightest urging.

"I forgive you," he hissed, pulling her top lip between his teeth. Her legs locked around him and he pushed her up against the wall behind her. His hand slipped under her skirt, sliding up the back of her thigh to her bottom. While his other hand still cupped her face, he pressed the pad of his thumb against her lips, watching her eyes roll back slightly as her tongue darted out to taste his skin.

"How long can we push this whole 'give them space,' thing?"

Without a word she froze, leaning her head back against the wall and sucking in several deep breaths. He almost missed the sound of approaching footsteps until she tried to squirm herself free.

"About four seconds," she wheezed, rushing to her mirror to straighten her dress. Sure enough, a knock came at the door as she frantically combed her fingers through her hair.

Ellie dashed to the door, holding the handle still in her hand and looking back over at Christopher to make sure he was ready. He nodded with a sigh and leaned back against a dresser.

"Hi Daddy," she said brightly, giving him a quick one-armed hug before stepping back so he could enter the room. "Come in."

He smiled and nodded to Christopher. "Ellie," he said, looking back at her, "do you have a moment?"

"Of course, what's up?" Her eyes flicked to a large while envelope that he held in his hand.

Carlisle pinched the envelope with his thumbs and forefingers, smoothing them outward along the edge. When it turned upward, Ellie noticed that it had already been opened.

"Your mother left this on my desk yesterday," he explained, hesitating as he held it upright and studied the writing on the front. "I am afraid I didn't read the address as closely as I should have before I opened it…"

He passed the envelope to Ellie, whose eyes opened wide as she read the front. Christopher stood straighter, peering over her shoulder to see before she flipped it over.

"Er, Ellie," Christopher said, but she did not appear to have heard him. She tugged the pages out, letting the envelope go. Christopher snatched it up before it could hit the ground and stared at Ellie's name on the front.

_Eleanor E. Cullen, M.D._

"Ellie," he hissed. "M.D.? You're a doctor?"

Ellie grimaced, shrinking back from him slightly. "Yes? Sort of? Well, not sort of. I was going to tell you…" Christopher took a step toward her, feeling guilty that she suddenly looked so afraid.

"I'm not angry," he said, reaching for her hand. "Just surprised." He nodded toward the letter in her hand. "Can you tell me what it says?"

Carlisle cleared his throat and both Christopher and Ellie jumped, having already forgotten he was standing there. Ellie dropped Christopher's hand and turned back to her father. She raised her eyes to meet his expectant gaze, and Christopher watched them in their silent exchange, which ended with Ellie's long, defeated sigh.

"Daddy," Ellie said softly, beseeching her father to understand something for which Christopher had no context, "I can explain."


	15. Chapter 15

**_A/N: this took way longer than I intended. Sorry! It also went in a bit of a different direction than I had planned, but these two had some things to talk about :)_**

* * *

Ellie trudged through the hallway, stifling a yawn as she reached the door to her room. She paused, leaning her forehead against the wooden frame and listening to Christopher's slow-and-steady breathing on the other side. She pushed the door open quietly, creeping in as if she were trying not to wake a sleeping child.

Indeed, Christopher looked as if he could have been sleeping. The room was as dark as the forest outside her window, and he lay on the bed perfectly still; not moving at all until she stepped closer. His arms unfolded, inviting her to curl up beside him.

"You're exhausted," he whispered, brushing his lips across her forehead as he tucked her into his chest. "Was he angry?"

Ellie sighed, wrapping her arms around his middle and pulling herself closer. She'd spent the last few hours in her father's office, explaining in great detail everything that had changed in the last several months.

"You weren't listening?"

Christopher slid down so that his face aligned with hers, gently stroking her back. He could feel the tension in her body as his fingertips trailed the length of her spine.

"Not too much."

Ellie smiled a little. "I did most of the talking anyway."

He nodded, using his other hand to brush loose tendrils of hair away from her face. "I wasn't going to spy on you, Ellie," he murmured, kissing her softly. His lips made a slow path from her mouth to her cheekbone to just beneath her ear. "This is the fun part right? Unraveling the mysteries about each other."

His fingers kneaded the small of her back, and Ellie felt her resolve slipping away as he nudged her knees apart with his leg.

"Wait," she whispered hoarsely, her hands sliding from where she'd been clutching his waist to his chest. She pushed him back with her palms flat against his shirt. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said with a gentle smile that quickly faded as he read the stress on her face. "You look upset. What can I do?"

"Can we…get out of here?" Her hand fluttered to her stomach and she grimaced. "I think I need to hunt."

* * *

Christopher stood on the edge of the Calawah River bank, a thick blanket of forest to his back. Ellie had been quiet during the short run from the house, quietly excusing herself as she left him to find something suitable.

A light breeze rustled through the trees and Christopher breathed in deeply, letting the smell of the river and the forest fill his head. He took another deep breath, but this time there was a different flavor in the air. He turned around and walked back toward the tree line, listening for sounds of an approach.

"Ellie?"

No answer came but the stirring of the leaves above. He turned back toward the water, wondering to himself if he should try to find Ellie if she didn't return soon.

The branches shook again, harder as if a creature was leaping from limb to limb. He almost thought he heard a giggle, but before he could investigate, something leapt from above and landed on his back.

He yelled in surprise, lurching instinctively to free himself, but his attacker held on tight with limbs curled around his chest and waist.

It was only the feeling of Ellie's breath on his neck that broke through the instinctive drive to counter the attack. He forced his body still, holding onto her arms and reminding himself to be careful as he pulled her around to the front of him.

"Ellie! Goddamn it!" She laughed and hugged him tighter, which only angered him more. "I could have really hurt you!"

He wrenched her arms from where they now linked around his neck and disentangled himself from her legs, setting her down on her feet.

"Chris?" Ellie reached for his hand, registering his irritation. He let her weave her fingers between his but squeezed his eyes shut as he struggled to control his temper. "I'm sorry. You're right. That was stupid."

She stepped closer, and he could once again feel her breath and her hand touching his face. "Look at me please?"

He grudgingly opened his eyes, and all of his anger melted away when he saw the genuine apology on her face.

"Come here," he said with a sigh, pulling her back to him and leaning his forehead against hers. "I apologize for yelling at you; I shouldn't have lost my tempter. But you scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry," she murmured into his shirt before pulling away. Christopher watched as she kicked off her shoes and started walking toward the water. "Come on!" she called over shoulder.

"What are you doing now?" He jogged after her, leaving his shoes beside hers. Ellie lithely stepped onto a slick rock, and then jumped from another to another, her feet covered by an inch or so of water as she made herself a path along the stones.

"Ellie!" Christopher followed her, cringing as she wobbled before gracefully regaining her balance. "Would you please slow down? You're going to fall."

Ellie laughed, turning around and waiting for him to catch up. "Chris, I'm fine. Really. You would have to throw me onto one of those rocks for me to get hurt."

"Let's not test that theory, though, okay?"

She shrugged, sticking her tongue out as she skipped ahead again. "Besides, if I do get hurt, I will just take care of it myself." She threw a wink back at him. "I am a doctor after all."

Christopher caught up with her, grabbing her hand and turning her to face him. "Ah," he said, scooping her up in his arms, "back to the mystery, then."

Back on the shore, Ellie sat down on the ground with her legs crossed under her. Christopher sat down across from her, mirroring her position.

"I'm not trying to be a mystery you know," she said after a minute or two of silence.

Christopher smiled. "I know."

"I'm not sure where to start."

"Wherever you like."

"Okay," she said, drawing the word out for a few beats longer than necessary. "When we moved here, I had one more year of residency left. I'd gone to med school while we lived in Alaska. Because I was working, I didn't get stuck doing the high-school routine like my siblings. Thank god."

Christopher snorted. "I cannot believe they do that, by the way."

"It's awful. And I haven't done it as many times as the rest of them have. In fact, it drove Rosalie nuts that I was getting out of it this time. I'm surprised she didn't drag Emmett off to Europe or something in protest."

Ellie shook her head at the thought, smiling as Christopher's shoulders shook with his attempt to hold back laughter. "Anyway," she said, "I had also decided that I wanted to specialize in Cardiology, and started making plans to secure a fellowship."

Christopher nodded, his expression solemn as he listened to her tale. Ellie's voice dropped lower as she continued.

"That was about the same time that I found out that, um, Nahuel was planning a visit."

She studied his face carefully listening for a reaction in his thoughts, but all she noticed was a slight tension around the corners of his eyes.

"You didn't take the fellowship?" Christopher guessed. "Because of him?"

Ellie shrugged, staring past his shoulder into the trees. "Yeah." She looked back at him hesitantly. "It wasn't a very…popular decision. But while I was in Alaska, I realized I missed it. So I picked up a contract gig at a local hospital working in the Emergency Room, and one of the attendings there knew a couple of the people on the hiring committee at UWMC."

"And here we are, " he said. "So why is your father upset with you now?"

"He's…concerned. He worries that I make decisions impulsively. Act out too rashly."

"Ah." Christopher leaned back with his palms pressed into the ground behind him. "He's worried about more than just this job, isn't he?"

"It's not their business," Ellie replied brusquely, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her head to the side, staring blankly at the river.

"No," he agreed, "it's not. But it's not so unreasonable for them to be worried, is it?" He nudged her knee with her own. "I will just have to prove to them that I am not going anywhere."

He watched patiently for her reaction, and was rewarded a moment later when her steely expression started to crack with a twitch of her lips.

"Ellie."

He leaned forward and took her hands; rubbing his thumbs firmly against the center of her palms and working outward until he felt some of her tension begin to ease.

"Can we talk for a little while about what you are afraid of?"

"What?" Her arms tensed again and she tried to yank her hands away. When Christopher wouldn't let go, she scowled at him. "I'm not afraid Chris."

He had expected her reaction, and smiled patiently, ducking his head to keep eye contact when she tried to look away.

"Look," she huffed, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this before "

"Ellie," he chuckled, "you don't need to apologize for that. For god's sake we've only known each other for a few days and not twelve hours ago you told me that you loved me."

"You said you loved me too," she shot back irritably. Her eyes narrowed when he laughed.

"And I do. And it's a little fucking terrifying."

Ellie started to scoff but stopped short. "It is?"

Christopher took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Of course it is. Ellie. I've spent nearly three centuries on my own. I mean, I wasn't hiding out in a cave or anything, but at the end of the day when it was time to move on it was just me. But now, when you're sleeping at night, I find myself wondering what the fuck I would do if you weren't there."

He let go of one of her hands to run his fingers through his hair and stared up at the stars that peeked dimly through the thin clouds that blanketed the sky.

When he looked back at Ellie, thin wet tracks lined her face. Her arms shook as she clenched his hand with both of hers.

"I didn't know," she whispered, sniffing back another wave of tears. Using his free hand, he wiped the moisture from her cheeks.

"Well now you do," he said gently. "Ellie, why did you give up being a doctor for him?"

Ellie reeled back as if she'd been struck. "What?"

"I'd like to understand. I would never ask you to leave your work for me, and I'd like know what made you think you needed to before."

"He didn't really ask me to, I just..." She paused, bringing her hand to her face and nervously chewing her thumbnail. "He didn't understand why my father or I, or any immortal or hybrid for that matter would bother. 'Humans are so fragile and impermanent,' he would say. 'Humans are fickle and breakable; let them be as nature intended. Those that are meant to survive will.'

"It's sort of ironic really. He loathes his father for the way he treats humans – fodder for his little 'experiments.' But he carries so much guilt because of his own existence..."

Christopher's brow puckered as he listened. "So do you, though."

"Yeah. But I wasn't raised to believe that what happened to my mother was my fault. Anyway, I guess I let it get into my head, and I doubted if it was all even worth it." She shook her head. "I'm not proud of it, but I guess it's easy to doubt."

"When did you realize you wanted to practice again?"

At this Ellie smiled, closing her eyes as the memory came to her.

"When I went to Alaska, my cousins welcomed me without question, and gave me space when I needed it. My family means well, but you've already gotten a look at their definition of space."

She opened her eyes when Christopher chuckled.

"Exactly. It was a few weeks before I felt like talking much. When I did start talking, it wasn't about Nahuel or why I'd left home. It was about work. Except I didn't realize until Tanya and Eleazar both pointed it out."

They sat quietly for several moments, until Ellie poked Christopher's knee. "You realize I haven't answered your question."

Christopher smiled. "I know. I figured we were warming up to that."

Ellie sighed and threw her head back, watching the leaves ripple in the breeze. "Chris?"

"Yes?" But before the word was out of his mouth Ellie was climbing into his lap.

"Do you mind? I miss you."

He pressed a kiss onto her hair and wrapped his arms around her. "No Ellie," he chuckled, "I don't mind in the slightest."

"The truth is," she said softly, "I don't know what I am scared of. Everything?" She laughed bitterly. "I'm scared you will leave me. I'm scared I will leave you. I'm scared I will kill someone because I miss something or sever an artery in the cath lab."

She shifted in his arms, craning her neck to see his face. "Mostly, I'm scared that I'm not scared enough of these things."

She shifted again, pulling herself up and straddling his lap, her fingers pressing into his shoulders. He smoothed her hair back and held her face in his hands.

"I won't leave you, Ellie," he said roughly. "I'd die first." He could feel her heart beating against his chest and taste her breath as it warmed his face.

"And you won't let me leave you?" she whispered, her left hand sliding up into his hair and brushing the curls back from his forehead. "I think I may be a bit of a runner."

Christopher grinned, sucking her bottom lip between his teeth with a growl.

"I run faster than you."

Ellie whimpered and grabbed his hair as he turned his attention to her neck. "That's good," she gasped. "Chris..."

"Yes?" His response vibrated off her skin and she rocked hard against him.

"We should go back."

"Yeah. We should." He was on his feet with her in his arms before she could even move to stand.

"Chris!" she squealed. "I can walk."

"This is better though isn't it?"

She smiled and pulled his face to hers. "It is." Her lips brushed over his, but her face suddenly turned away. Her muscles tensed.

"What's wrong?" He looked around frantically as if something was about to appear through the trees.

"Do you hear that?" She craned her neck to look back at the tree line. "Do you smell that?"

Christopher set Ellie on her feet, stepping in front of her protectively. "Ellie what do you hear?" He took a deep breath, summoning all of his immortal senses. His nose burned with a stench that he hadn't noticed before.

"What is that?" he hissed.

"I don't know...it's not human. Or vampire. But...I think I can hear it. It's mind."

Christopher looked back at her incredulously. "You can hear animals? What kind of Disney nonsense is that?"

"No!" She snarled. "Of course I can't. I don't know how to explain it but something not human and not vampire is fucking out there listening to us right now."

Christopher moved to pick her up again, but stopped when she grabbed his arm, her eyes wide and terrified.

"Oh my god," she hissed. "They're still here. Chris we have to get out of here. Now."

Her words didn't make sense but he wasn't going to wait for her to explain. He scooped her up and ran as fast as he could.


	16. Chapter 16

"How many were out there?"

Ellie shrugged, leaning back against the chair. "One? Maybe Two? I don't think it was more than two; or three. Maybe."

"Maybe one? Or three?" Edward sighed. "Ellie, which was it? One or two or three?"

"I don't know!" She drew in a long breath threw her nose, wincing at some unspoken response. "I don't know," she repeated in a softer tone.

"It was hard to concentrate…I could smell them," she glanced at Christopher, "we could smell them, but the thoughts were…strange. There had to have been more than one because one was ordering them to come back, I think? But there was a curiosity…"

Carlisle sat quietly at the head of the table, pondering Ellie's words. "Did you cross the border?"

"No Daddy."

"Are you sure? We've told you not to venture so far if you aren't sure where the line is."

"Of course I'm sure!" She threw her arms in the air. "I will show you where we were if you don't believe me!"

Christopher could see Ellie's temper threatening to bubble over and grabbed her hand before she could slam it down on the ornate table.

She had been on edge from the moment they'd arrived back at the house. Edward had read her thoughts as they approached and deduced what they'd encountered in the woods. By the time they reached the front door the family was already gathered to discuss the incident.

_Settle down, love_, Christopher thought, bringing her hand to his lips and holding her gaze with a steadying stare. She glared at him for a moment, but let out a long breath and he could feel her tension starting to ease as his other hand slipped under the table to rest on her knee.

Christopher was aware that the rest of the Cullens all watched their interaction, but his only focus was Ellie.

"What were they doing there?" Esme wondered aloud. "Carlisle, is it really possible that the same men we met so many years ago are still protecting their tribe?"

Carlisle rubbed his temple and shook his head. "I don't think so, Esme," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "A new generation I would assume."

Edward sighed from the corner, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ellie, you didn't hear anything else?"

Christopher wrapped an arm around Ellie's shoulders, feeling her tense again at his side. She let her head fall back against his arm and stared up at the ceiling.

"No, Edward; only know that they were surprised to find us there."

"And no one pursued you when you left the area?" Carlisle looked from Ellie to Christopher to seek confirmation from both.

"I didn't notice anything or anyone following, no," Christopher said, glancing at Ellie as well. She shook her head.

Jasper shifted in his chair, and Edward and Ellie both looked to him at the same time. Christopher could see the downturn of her lips as she frowned at her taciturn brother. "Carlisle," he said quietly, "we shouldn't ignore this encroachment."

Ellie shook her head. "Really, Jasper. I don't think they meant any harm. They didn't come there looking for us."

"You can't know that Ellie," Jasper argued. "You've said as much."

"And why did you get out of dodge so quickly?" Emmett added. Edward and Jasper nodded and Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"Because I was surprised!" Ellie retorted, her face growing hot. She glanced back at Christopher as if to apologize. "And I hadn't told Chris about the treaty yet because honestly I'd almost entirely forgotten about the supposed wolves." She paused and her attention focused back on her father as if he'd called to her.

"I told you already we weren't over the line," she snapped.

Her expression hardened as she continued to stare in the direction of her parents. Several seconds of silence passed before her shoulders slumped forward.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Look. The last thing I expected was to come across one of them so it didn't occur to me to tell him and I didn't want to wait and find out that I was wrong and they really did mean to make trouble."

"You should be more careful, Ellie," Esme admonished quietly. "You need to pay closer attention to your surroundings. And really, how could you not think to tell Christopher about the treaty if he's going to be spending time here?"

Ellie hissed, her eyes blazing with anger. "If I were any more careful I would never leave the house. And do you really think I wouldn't have told him? It's not like he was just going to go wandering off without me! Why am I being interrogated here?"

Christopher slid his hand to her shoulder. _Let's just go upstairs, Ellie_, he thought. But Carlisle spoke before she could respond.

"No one is trying to interrogate you, Eleanor. We just want to make sure there are no details being left out."

Ellie hissed under her breath. "Oh, that's what this is about? Ellie's keeping _secrets_. And _Ellie_ doesn't know where the border is. Ellie needs to be reprimanded for not being _careful_ enough."

She shoved her chair away from the table and leapt to her feet. "I'm going to bed."

* * *

Christopher knocked on the bedroom door, but there was no answer. He carefully turned the knob, pushing the door open without a sound and closed it with a soft click behind him. He kicked off his shoes and pulled his shirt off over his head, sliding into bed beside Ellie's sleeping form.

With a feather-light touch, he smoothed her wild hair away from her face and brushed a kiss against her temple, before lying down with one arm draped over her middle.

She sighed, smiling peacefully in her slumber and nestled herself closer to him, her arm resting over top of his. For hours he held her nuzzled against his chest, her head tucked under his chin.

Though they'd spent only a few nights together, he knew that she was nearly awake when a small groan, quiet and peaceful, slipped between her lips, and she rolled to her back. Her arms reached up over her head, her muscles pulling tight before she slowly lowered them to her sides. She rolled toward Christopher, burrowing back into his chest.

He wrapped both arms around her, kissing the top of her head, then her temple, and then her cheek.

"Good morning," he whispered.

"Is it morning?" she grumbled sleepily, her breath warming the cool skin of his chest.

"It was," he chuckled. "Still close enough now though."

She groaned again and pulled herself into a sitting position, folding her arms around her bent knees.

"How much of an asshole am I?"

"What?"

"I left you down there. With god knows what to deal with."

"It wasn't that bad Ellie."

"Right," she scoffed, leaning her head against her arms.

He shook his head and rubbed her back. "Do you want to know what happened after you came upstairs? Did you hear anything?"

"No, I pretty much just fell asleep." She turned her head to look at him, her face half hidden by her mess of sleep-tangled curls. "What happened? Did they grill you?"

"No. I think they realized maybe they pushed you a bit too hard."

She snorted. "Doubtful."

"Well, I'm pretty sure they did," he insisted, "because I made sure to tell them so."

Ellie's head shot up and her mouth dropped open. "What did you say?"

* * *

Everyone stared after Ellie as she stalked out of the room, her footsteps pounding on the wooden staircase. From the corner of his eye, Christopher saw Esme start to stand, but Alice shook her head.

"Let her be, Esme."

Esme ignored this, moving to follow Ellie.

"No," Christopher said, more sharply than he intended, and Esme turned back to look at him questioningly. His cleared his throat, and all eyes were suddenly boring into him. "Please," he added, "I think Alice is right. Ellie is exhausted and overwhelmed and just needs a little space."

Christopher could almost hear their eyes shifting from him to Esme to Carlisle while they waited for someone to speak.

It was Rosalie that broke the heavy silence. "You honestly think you know better than Ellie's mother what Ellie needs right now?"

Christopher set his mouth in a line, regarding Ellie's sister sternly, as if addressing an insolent student. "I'm simply suggesting that maybe the cross-examination has gone on long enough. She told everyone exactly what happened – no more, no less.

"That she didn't tell me about the treaty earlier is irrelevant – she knew exactly where we were. She's tired, anxious and desperately wants to please you all. So please, cut her a little slack."

* * *

"You said that?"

Christopher nodded, raising one brow as Ellie's eyes widened in disbelief.

"And then what?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. I said good night, excused myself and came upstairs." He ruffled her messy hair. "You were already dead asleep when I got up here."

Ellie's eyes were still saucers as she flopped backward onto her pillow. "Huh."

Christopher lay down next to her, with his head propped up by his arm. "I know you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself and speaking up for yourself, but I couldn't hold that back. Sorry."

She rolled to her side and put her hand against his chest. "Don't apologize. That was very sweet. I'm not used to being defended like that."

Christopher smiled and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips. "I imagine I have some damage control to do with your family now. But I want you to know that I will do it. I love you, Ellie, and while I may not be able to bite my tongue in that kind of situation, I know that they are all part of the package. I won't neglect that even though it's been a bumpy start."

"I love you," she whispered, sliding her arms around his neck and pulling herself closer. Her breath danced across his skin as her lips brushed against his neck. "Don't worry too much about the bumpy start. I'm pretty sure you sold yourself to at least my parents with that little speech."

He chuckled. "Really? Probably not Rosalie though, huh."

"No," Ellie agreed, her body shaking with quiet laughter. "Probably not."

Without warning, Christopher gathered Ellie in his arms and hopped lithely to his feet. "Come on," he said, ignoring her surprised yelp.

"What are you doing?!"

"We are going to take a shower, and then you, Dr. Cullen, are going to show me around town."

Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck again, her hands finding purchase on the back of his head. Pulling herself up, her nose rubbed against his and their lips just barely touched.

"Oh am I?"

"Please?" he whispered, flicking his tongue out to taste her lips. She shivered and her arms tightened around his neck.

"Aren't you afraid I will accidentally lead you into a den of wolves?"

His eyes flashed and darkened. "I will take my chances."


	17. Chapter 17

Ellie laughed as she led Christopher up the front steps. "I told you there was nothing to see." She glanced over her shoulder and an evil grin spread across his lips.

"I saw enough," he said, mischief glimmering in his eyes. "I found the high school parking lot to be rather fascinating, as it happened."

"Chris!" Ellie hissed, whirling around and closing her hand over his mouth. "Shh!" Her small palm couldn't cover the width of his smile as she stared down at him from the top step.

"Make me," he growled, closing his hands around her hips and pulling her in for a kiss. "You are an excellent tour guide." His fingers drummed against her lower back, slipping beneath the waistband of her jeans and sinking into her skin as she melted against him.

With a heavy sigh, Ellie pressed her forehead against Christopher's chest, her hands clutching the fabric of his sweater as he wrapped his arms around her.

"What are you thinking?"

A muffled grunt came in reply. "That I'm ready to go home."

"Soon, love," he whispered. "But, we should probably…"

"Go in. You're right." She pushed back from him with another sigh. "Okay. Let's go."

The house was dark, and Ellie felt a spark of hope that perhaps they were alone. Before the thought could take hold, her head snapped forward again when Christopher's grip on her hand tightened and suddenly pulled her arm taut.

Ellie jumped, seeing the shape of her father sitting alone in the darkened living room. Her hand clapped against her chest.

"I didn't see you there, Dad. You scared me."

"Sorry, Carlisle," Christopher offered over Ellie's shoulder, "we didn't mean to disturb you."

Carlisle shook his head, but did not stand. "You didn't. Can you both please sit?"

Ellie looked at Christopher again with a shrug. "Um, sure Dad." Christopher kept her hand in his and held it tightly in his lap as they sat together on the sofa. "Why are you sitting here in the dark? Where is everyone?"

Carlisle reached to his left, wordlessly flipping a single light switch on the wall beside him.

"Sorry," he said with a tense smile. "I hadn't noticed."

"Daddy, what's going on?"

With one hand still covering hers, Christopher wrapped an arm around Ellie's shoulders, instinctively pulling her closer as he studied her father's grave expression.

"I thought it might be easier this way," Carlisle said. "Especially after last night's conversation got a little…heated."

Ellie slumped against Christopher's side. "Oh. This again?"

"Not quite, Eleanor."

Christopher squeezed Ellie's shoulder in support as her father's voice hardened ever so slightly. He held his breath waiting to hear what Carlisle had to say.

"I had a visit today from Billy Black and Sam Uley."

"Who?" Ellie leaned forward, her stare boring into her father as she tried to understand what it was that he hadn't yet said.

"They are from the Quileute reservation, Ellie."

"The Quileutes…" Ellie murmured. "You mean…?"

Carlisle nodded. "Yes. Sam is the leader of the new pack of wolves."

"They came here?"

Carlisle's expression almost appeared to soften. "They had quite a few questions about you - obviously they had never encountered a hybrid vampire before.

Ellie groaned and jumped to her feet, clasping tightly behind her back and starting to slowly pace in front of the couch. "Is that all they wanted?"

"They apologized for coming so close - and in doing so confirmed that you weren't over the border."

"But Dad," Ellie said, whirling around on her heel, "I had already told you that."

"I know. We don't have to rehash that; it doesn't matter now," Carlisle replied, shaking his head dismissively. "That wasn't all they wanted."

Christopher could sense the tension rippling off of Ellie and reached for her hand as she passed in front of him, but she yanked it away. He cleared his throat and turned to face Carlisle.

"Carlisle," he said, "what exactly was it that they came to discuss?"

Ellie's pacing slowed to a stop and she watched her father carefully, though she knew his mind wouldn't slip and reveal details he was not yet ready to speak. Carlisle met Christopher's stare with his mouth set in a firm line.

"They came here specifically to talk about you."

"About me?" Ellie hissed angrily, but Christopher did not take his eyes off Carlisle's face. "What about me?"

A low growl from Ellie's chest broke the momentary silence that followed. Christopher struggled to be patient waiting for one of them to speak.

"This isn't fair, Dad," Ellie spat. "This has nothing to do with him. He's done nothing wrong."

"Are we still talking about me?" Christopher interjected irritably. "I'd really like to be a part of this conversation."

Ellie's head dropped and she turned to face her mate. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

"It's okay." He took her hand again, squeezing and waiting for her to meet his gaze. "Fill me in, please?"

"They came here because they noticed that you were different from the rest of them."

"Different how?"

"Your eyes."

"So?"

Carlisle pinched the bridge of his nose. "Christopher, they know that your eye color is the mark of a vampire that feeds on humans. It is their opinion that since you do not abstain from human blood, you are not covered under the terms of our treaty."

Christopher blew an angry hiss between his teeth, his fists tightly balled and pressed into his knees. "I'm perfectly capable of controlling myself. How did they see us anyway? I didn't think they were that close."

Ellie moved closer to him, sensing his irritation, and lightly rested her hand on his shoulder. She meant for the touch to be a comfort, but her fingertips curled into his shirt as Carlisle finally let the memory of the conversation into his mind.

Her eyes were blank, seeing only the images that Carlisle now recalled. "The leader watched from the trees – he hadn't shifted to his wolf form. He saw me hunt, and he saw you. He was watching over the other wolves." Christopher felt her arm start to tremble and he covered her hand with his. "Daddy this is wrong. How can you let them threaten him? He didn't come here to hurt anyone."

Christopher watched the silent argument unfold between Ellie and Carlisle – Ellie shaking her head angrily, her face flushed and her body tensed.

When several seconds passed without another word spoken, Christopher growled in frustration, leaping to his feet. "Will someone please say something?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her chest heaving as if she'd been running for several miles. "Again." She glared at her father through narrowed eyes. "They're threatening you Chris. And apparently my father felt there was nothing he could say to deter them."

"Ellie," Carlisle pleaded, standing and walking a few slow steps toward his irate daughter. "Please try to see reason. This isn't a matter that I can control. I set the terms of the treaty, and technically their point is not invalid. As long as Christopher maintains a…traditional…diet, he is a danger; even if he has no intention of hunting here."

She opened her mouth to argue back, but Christopher intervened. "Ellie, wait."

Her head whipped back around to face him, her eyes wide when she let his thoughts into her mind. "Christopher, this isn't fair."

Christopher shrugged, exchanging a long glance with Carlisle before turning his attention back to Ellie.

"You and I haven't had a chance to talk about this much, Ellie. But honestly, I figured it would come up at some point."

"You did?"

"Of course. Once you explained how your family lives, and once I knew that I loved you, I knew I would have a choice to make." He cleared his throat, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck and cocking his head to the side. "You really hadn't thought about this at all?"

Ellie shrugged, flopping back down on the couch and leaning forward with her arms against her knees.

"No…I mean, yes I had, but not in any great detail. It's all so new…" She raked her fingers through her hair and looked over her shoulder at him. "I certainly never expected you to have to make this decision with a gun to your head."

Christopher chuckled and walked around the couch, crouching down in front of her and taking hold of her hands in one of his. When she looked up, he smiled and brushed away the few angry tears that slid down her cheeks.

"To hell with the gun, Ellie. I'm not going to do this because of a bunch of dogs. I'm doing this for you and for me." Christopher took her face in both of his hands, pressing his forehead. "We are in this together, right?"

Ellie sniffed and nodded her agreement. "Right," she started to answer, but the word was lost in a surprised gasp as his mouth covered hers. Her hands flew to the back of his neck, her fingertips combing through the soft tangled curls and stroking the skin just below his hairline. Her heart pounded in her chest as he pulled her lower lip into his mouth.

Ellie turned her head just far enough to the side to sneak a breath when she heard movement from across the room. Suddenly remembering that they weren't alone, she pulled away.

"Sorry," she whispered. From the corner of her eye, she could see a small smirk on her father's face.

Christopher flashed a sheepish grin before assuming a more modest posture, seating himself beside Ellie on the sofa.

Carlisle cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence that had settled over the room. "Well, if you are serious I am happy to help in any way that I can."

Christopher nodded, rubbing his hands together slowly as he gathered his thoughts. Ellie squeezed his arm, and he gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

"I'm serious," he declared fervently, rising to his feet and offering his hand to Ellie. She smiled back at him, weaving her fingers between his.

* * *

It was a few hours before dawn when Carlisle found himself standing inches from the treaty border. He'd guessed that they would be patrolling the line more closely now, and wasn't disappointed when he heard several sets of human footprints rapidly approaching.

Before any figures came into view, the sound changed. Suddenly, one human was accompanied by a cacophony of heavy paws thundering through the forest.

"Thank you for coming," Carlisle called into the darkness. Seconds later, Sam Uley appeared between the trees. He walked with purpose toward the border, halting a few feet from where Carlisle waited. "I apologize if I caused any alarm. Perhaps if we had another way of contacting one another, it would be easier to discuss issues when they arise."

A faint snort echoed from deep behind the thick swath of trees.

"We would prefer that there be no further issues with the treaty," Sam replied in a calm, deep timbre. "In fact, many of our elders feel that I had no reason to speak to you earlier today, even out of courtesy."

Carlisle nodded, careful to keep his face impassive. "I wanted to thank you again for offering us that courtesy," he said. "I have spoken with my daughter and her mate. He agreed without hesitation to begin hunting only animals, and to stop feeding on humans."

Sam's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Your kind can simply decide to cease from hunting their natural prey?"

"It's not simple, no," Carlisle explained with a sigh. "But he is determined. My daughter has deemed him to be worthy as a mate, and I trust her judgment in his character. I came here tonight in the hopes that this will be enough to ensure his safety."

"You told them the details of our earlier conversation?"

"Yes."

"You are certain that he will abide by the rules of the treaty, and will no longer feed on humans?"

"Yes."

Sam nodded once. "We shall see."


	18. Chapter 18

Ellie crept into the classroom as Christopher sat at the piano, his fingers dancing over the piano keys as he sung the melody of a stripped down version of "Jingle Bells." His baritone voice rang out into the small lecture hall and Ellie shivered in the hard wooden chair she'd ducked into.

"Notice the rate of chord changes," he called out to the class, pausing and turning to face his students. His face was bright and excited, and Ellie smiled as she watched him in his element. "But remember, we're still only using the tonic and dominant chords."

It was only when he jumped up from his seat, the piano bench scraping across the small stage, that the gleam of her copper hair caught his eye. He hesitated, his gaze trained on the back of the room. She smiled and gave a little wave, willing him to refocus on his lecture before anyone noticed the source of his distraction. To her dismay, heads began to turn in her direction. She shrunk back in her seat; her mind crowded with her own image as seen by a few dozen curious co-eds.

Christopher cleared his throat, calling attention to his audience and began scribbling furiously across a massive white board. Ellie watched in awe as his students eagerly raised their hands to answer his questions and frantically jotted down his remarks.

When the hour ended, Ellie quietly rose from her seat as the students hurried to leave. She made sure the last of the stragglers were gone before creeping up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist while he erased the board. One hand closed over where hers joined against his stomach. He finished one last sweep of the eraser before setting it down and turning to face her.

"I thought you had a lecture this evening, Dr. Cullen," he murmured, pulling her in for a kiss.

"I did," she said, running her fingers along his dark blue tie, "but the presenting doc got pulled into an emergency procedure." She grinned up at him. "I'm off the hook, and officially free for the next three days."

Christopher heaved a long sigh, holding her tightly against his chest. "Good. I've missed you."

Over the last several weeks, Ellie had been working multiple twelve-hour shifts that often stretched to fourteen or sixteen hours, and Christopher had resumed his normal teaching schedule. They made as much time as they could for one another, but often found themselves like passing ships, leaving notes in odd places around the apartment, or sneaking short breaks together whenever there were a few minutes to spare.

Ellie nodded, her face rubbing against his shirt. "I know. Me too. But I am all yours right now." She tried to stifle a yawn, but she couldn't quite hold it in. "I am dying for a shower and sleep."

Christopher chuckled, his hands slowly stroking up and down her back. "Would you settle for a shower and a quick nap in the car?"

She pulled back to see his face. "What are you up to?"

He let his arms drops and took her hands, smiling innocently. "I'm not up to anything. I did notice, though, that today it has been two months since we met."

"Two months?" Ellie's eyes opened wide. "Today?"

He nodded. "Yes. I thought we could do something to celebrate."

"Like…?"

"I was thinking that we could go camping for the weekend. Your brothers told me about a spot that is great for hunting, no humans around. I thought we could check it out."

Ellie smiled, running her thumb along the faint purple shadow under Christopher's eye. He had kept to his vow to maintain a diet of animal blood, and his once-red eyes now swirled with hints of amber.

"I think that sounds amazing," she said.

"Great." Christopher kissed her once more. "Let's get packed."

* * *

"God, it's beautiful up here." Ellie stood a few inches back from the edge of a cliff overlooking nearby summits like the one where they made camp. The sun had set before they began their climb to the spot Christopher had chosen.

She felt Christopher's presence behind her, and leaned back against him as his hands slid over her waist. She let him turn her around, grinning up at him as he grabbed her open flannel shirt and tugged her to him.

She wrapped her fingers around one of his wrists, reaching up to touch his face with her other hand. She drew her finger under his eye, as she'd done hours before, but this time, after they'd hunted their fill, the shadow was hardly visible.

She smiled again, raising herself up on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his.

"Your eyes," she whispered. "There's almost no red at all, now."

"Really," he murmured, rubbing his nose against hers. "Well that's something, I suppose."

"I haven't been much help, have I?" Ellie wondered aloud, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. "Not that you seem to have needed it, but I feel like I haven't been around enough to really support you with all of this."

"Ellie, no," Christopher said, silencing her worries with a long kiss. He smoothed his fingertips over the shape of her cheek, pressing his forehead to hers. "Have you forgotten all the time you've spent listening to me worry about being around my students? And for putting up with me even when I've been a bit…cranky lately?"

Ellie giggled, nodding her head. "You haven't been that cranky," she said, struggling to keep a straight face.

Christopher turned his head to press his lips against the palm of her hand. "You're a bad liar, Ellie."

She pulled back, her face twisted in an expression of mock-offense. "That's not true. I am an excellent liar."

He laughed loudly. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do," she said with a shrug. "But really. Considering you've gone through all of this under duress but with no protest at all, you get a free pass on that front." She screwed up her face as she considered her next words. "I never intended to force this life on you, but I hope you know what it means to me…"

Christopher didn't answer for several moments, he just pulled her tightly to his chest. Without warning he scooped her up into her arms, carrying her away to their tiny tent.

* * *

Ellie awoke with a start to the sound a wolf howling off in the distance. It took her a few seconds to recognize her surroundings, and to calm her irrational panic that the sound meant that enemies were approaching.

"It's just a dog, Eleanor," she muttered, clutching the over-sized sleeping bag around her. A shiver tickled her spine as her exposed skin registered the chilly temperature of their temporary mountain home. Her heartbeat pounded as loudly between her ears as it did within her chest, but a warm calm settled over her when she heard Christopher just outside.

"You awake in there?"

She reached for her bag and pulled out a sweatshirt and yoga pants. "Yeah, give me a second." When she emerged, she found Christopher with his back to her, squatting in front of a roaring fire he built while she slept. He used a long sturdy stick to adjust the wood as it burned, poking here and there until he was satisfied. He dropped the stick and rose to his feet, brushing off his hands.

Before she could take another step, he was standing in front of her. "Hi," he breathed, cupping her face in his hands and softly pressing his lips to hers. He pulled away quickly, nodding back toward the fire. "Would you like to sit?"

"So tell me something," Christopher said a few moments later, adjusting the blanket that he and Ellie huddled beneath. "What would you be doing right now, if you weren't here with me?"

"Um, sleeping?"

Christopher laughed, rubbing his knuckle against her head. "No, really."

Ellie gave a lopsided shrug. "I don't know. Maybe helping Mom with something, or watching Alice sketch." She smiled and pushed her hair back from her face. "I love watching Alice draw. The downside is, if I hang around too long, I get stuck helping with whatever project they are working on."

"Like what?"

Ellie pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. "Well, for example, Rosalie is already planning her next wedding." She reached for a long stick and began poking at one of the logs on the fire.

"Next wedding?"

Ellie nodded, leaning back against Christopher's chest. "Yeah. Em and Rose do the whole wedding fanfare thing every so often; usually a couple years after they finish a stint in high school."

Christopher considered that while absently curling a lock of her hair around his finger. "What about Alice and Jasper? Are they…?"

"Married? Yeah. I've never seen them get remarried for show, however. That's Rosalie's thing."

"And what about your parents? Do they…get 'remarried for show'?"

Ellie shook her head. "Nope. Not that I've ever seen anyway. Not their style."

"And what about you?"

"What about me what?" She wrinkled her nose and looked up at the sky.

Christopher tugged lightly on the strand of hair that was still tangled around his finger. "What's your style?"

Ellie sat up and turned around so she could see his face, her head tilting slightly to the side.

"I don't understand."

"How do you feel about…weddings?" he asked, his voice dropping into a lower register at the end. "Or, marriage, more specifically."

She let out a long breath, her eyes opening wide as she understood his meaning.

"Oh. Uh, I don't know. I guess…I guess the idea is...not so bad." The flush on her cheeks burned beneath her skin. "What about you?"

"I certainly never thought that any of that would be of interest to me," he said, shaking his head with a chuckle. "But…watching your family over these last couple of months has…shifted my perspective slightly, I suppose you could say."

Ellie's brows pulled together as she sat up and studied his face and his mind.

"Shifted how?"

Christopher let his hand drop from her hair. "Well, for one thing, I had never given serious consideration to whether I'd find a mate." He looked up and his lips quirked into a crooked grin. "But then there you were."

He shrugged his shoulders, looking up at the thick blanked of tree limbs overhead. "Everything is different now, though." His eyes fell back on her face, and a sudden warmth spread through her as his stare grew more intense.

"Is it?"

He stood up, pulling her to her feet and cupping her face in his hands. His eyes flashed with a strange determination before his mouth crushed against hers. She knew she didn't fully understand what was happening, but she surrendered instantly, weaving her arms around his neck. When he pulled away, they were both gasping for breath.

"Chris?"

He shook his head, taking hold of both of her hands. He sucked in several more rapid puffs of air before his respirations calmed and he again met her eyes.

"Please understand Ellie," he whispered, "this truly was not what I had in mind when I thought we should come here for the weekend."

Again, Ellie's brows knit together in confusion. "Okay," she said, elongating the word as she carefully studied him for clues.

Her mouth started to drop open as Christopher dropped down to one knee, reaching deep into one of his pockets. His fingers closed around something, and he stared at the ground for several seconds before he slowly withdrew the item. Ellie's stare was so intent on Christopher's face that she hadn't noticed when he reached for one of her hands until his cool skin gripped hers and pressed a small, soft box into her palm. The combined sensations surprised her and she jumped.

Christopher cleared his throat, waiting for her eyes to meet his.

"Everything is different now," he said more clearly. "I've never felt more secure, more excited, and more petrified, than I have since the day I met you, Ellie. I've never believed in fate, but god help me I knew my fate was tied to you the moment I saw you walk into that bar.

"I know you don't do things because it's convention, or because it's what the rest of your family would do, Ellie. Please don't for one second think that what I'm about to ask you is about any of that."

"What you're about to ask me?" she repeated in a dazed whisper. Her hand shook in his grip, and she had to concentrate to keep her knees from locking.

Christopher flashed a brilliant smile that could have illuminated the mountainside for miles.

"Ellie," he said calmly and firmly, "Will you marry me?"


	19. Chapter 19

_October 2004_

"Ellie?"

Christopher glanced over at the passenger seat when she didn't respond. Her eyes were thin slits, focused intently on the red light that posed the last obstacle along their route to her parents' house. She fiddled with her engagement ring, constantly pulling it halfway off her finger, then sliding it back into place and spinning it around. The antique diamonds caught the light from the lone streetlamp as it spun.

"Ellie," he said again, louder this time. The red turned to green, but Christopher shifted the car into park. It was too late to expect much traffic this close to the edge of town. He took hold of her left hand, halting her edgy fidgeting.

She jumped at his touch but laid her right hand over his, her eyes hesitantly meeting his persistent stare.

"There you are," he said with a smile.

Her brows pulled together. "What do you mean? I'm right here." Her right hand rose toward the windshield, pointing at the light as her eyes flicked forward again. "Shouldn't we…?"

Christopher shook his head. "In a minute; we need to talk first." He pulled her tightly clenched hand across the center console, and gently coaxing her fingers open.

"You've been a basket case since we left Seattle," he said quietly, staring down at the ring he'd placed there only a week before. "What's bothering you? Are you sure you want to do this?"

Ellie's head tilted to the side as she studied the lines of concern that had creased his ageless face. "Do what?"

Christopher shrugged, still staring down at her hand. "Your parents don't know we're coming, right? We could turn around. Hell, we could just run away and get married now." His voice got louder and his grip tightened. His eyes flicked to her face, bright with excitement. "Tonight!"

"No." Ellie shook her head furiously, loose tendrils falling from the haphazard knot on her head. "We talked about this." Her eyes, suddenly wild, beseeched him to understand. "I would follow you to the ends of the Earth, Christopher, but I can't hurt them like that now. We have to tell them first. We have to do this right."

* * *

_January 1, 2005_

"Something wrong?" Christopher offered Ellie a cup of coffee and sat down next to her, draping his arm around the back of the small plastic chair where she sat. He noted her intense expression with concern; her fingers clinging to the tiny silver cellphone that rested on her leg.

"Ellie?"

He nudged the back of her shoulder. "Hello?"

She sucked in a breath, blinking as her eyes trained on the cup he still held in front of her.

"Sorry!" She took the cup and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he chuckled. "Where were you just now?"

She held up the phone, taking a sip of the coffee. "Alice."

"Oh, no explanation needed, then." He rubbed his temple. Their short engagement had been an education starting from the very moment they announced their news to Ellie's family.

"Is there a crisis?" Christopher asked, glancing over at the gate attendants on his right. "I think we're going to board soon."

She smiled and shook her head. "No crisis. She just broke down their last twenty-four hours in about ninety seconds. I think she was trying to assure me that everything is going to be okay."

Christopher laughed and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. "Everything is going to be much more than okay."

He gently cupped her cheek and pressed a light kiss to her lips, chuckling again as she attempted and failed to stifle a yawn.

"You should sleep on the plane love," he murmured. Ellie wrinkled her nose, but before she could reply the attendants announced in Spanish that it was time for first-class passengers to line up for boarding.

"How are you?" She looked over at him as he took his seat beside her after stowing their carry-on bags, studying the darkening shadows beneath his eyes.

He smiled and shrugged. "I'm fine. It's only a few more hours."

Ellie nodded, tucking herself under his arm. "I'm sure the boys will whisk you away as soon as we reach the island." She watched Christopher's fingers curl over her left hand, his thumb rubbing against her ring.

"Which will leave you at the mercy of Alice, I suppose."

She shuddered and he laughed again. "You sure about all this? Any cold feet?"

Ellie shook her head, wrapping her arms around him as best as she could in the awkward airplane seat. "No cold feet."

Hours later, Ellie fought back a yawn as the cab slowed to a stop. Christopher paid the driver and helped her from the car, hoisting their bags over his shoulder. She took his hand, leading him to a dock lined with boats.

A shadowed figure appeared, walking briskly toward where they waited.

"Hi Daddy," Ellie said sleepily as Carlisle approached.

"Ellie," he said, drawing her into a hug. "How were your flights?"

"Long," she groaned.

"Here," he offered, "let me take your things." Christopher handed the bags off, though they weren't any trouble, and Carlisle's eyebrows pulled together as he examined their scant cargo.

"Alice took the rest on your flight," Ellie explained before he could inquire.

"Of course." Carlisle gestured toward one of the boats tied up to the pier. "Shall we?"

Christopher followed Carlisle's lead, jumping lithely onto the small speedboat. He turned to Ellie and she smiled at the slight twinkle in his eye when he offered his hand.

"Come on." He winked. "I won't let you fall."

She stepped forward without hesitation, but her feet never touched the ground as he linked his arms around her waist. He lifted her so quickly she started to squeal with surprise, but his mouth covered hers before the sound could escape.

"This time," he gasped between kisses, "you believed me."

"Always," she whispered, leaning her forehead against his and stroking his face with both hands. Christopher could feel Ellie's skin heat up, her creamy complexion gaining a pinkish hue in the soft moonlight.

Carlisle had busied himself readying the boat to leave, clearing his throat when his preparations were complete.

"Ready?" he asked casually.

Before Christopher set Ellie on her feet, he smoothed a few loose strands of hair away from her face, brushing his lips over hers once more.

"We're ready."

The boat ride from the shores of Rio de Janeiro to the mysterious Isle Esme was relatively short. Christopher eagerly scanned the horizon for any sign of the small landmass.

He turned to Ellie, who was staring at him intently as if she were watching through his eyes and not her own. It was difficult to talk over the roar of the little boat's engine, so he simply smiled and pressed a kiss to her hair.

I love you, he thought.

As the island came into view, Carlisle expertly steered the boat to a small dock. In the bright moonlight, the pale sand presented a stark contrast to the thick forest that covered the island beyond the beach. Christopher took in the view with rapt curiosity.

Nestled between the lush vegetation and the silken sand was a house that immediately struck Christopher as familiar. The first thing that caught his attention were the wide windows to bring as much natural light into the house as possible - a hallmark of Esme's designs.

Carlisle cut the engine of the boat. "Welcome to Isle Esme."

Christopher cleared his throat and shot a withering look at Carlisle. "This was an anniversary present?" Carlisle raised his eyebrows and nodded once. "Way to set the bar high for the rest of us."

* * *

_January 3, 2005_

Ellie tapped her fingers anxiously against the arm of the chair where Alice had been holding her captive for the last several hours. Her eyes flicked constantly from the clock to her sister's face, which was contorted in concentration as she brushed various powders and creams across Ellie's face.

"Eleanor," Alice sighed, "would you please relax your face." Her cool fingers slid daintily along the shape of Ellie's cheekbone in an attempt to ease the tension beneath her rosy skin. "Your blush won't look natural if you're all scrunched up like this."

Ellie closed her eyes and took in a long breath, jumping slightly at the feeling of another pair of cool hands – her mother's this time – gently squeezing her shoulders.

"That's it," Esme whispered, "breathe honey."

"Sorry," Ellie huffed after a few more deep breaths. "Weddings are stressful."

"Ha!" Alice's laugh rang out like a bell, echoing off the bathroom walls. "All you have to do is show up!"

Despite her anxiety, even Ellie had to admit that she'd had little to do to prepare for her own wedding. She'd feared that Alice would go overboard, but after she agreed to marry Christopher, she was even more afraid that Alice wouldn't want to help her plan. Now that the day had arrived, Ellie's biggest fear was that Alice would have found a way to skirt the rules.

Alice must have seen the question on Ellie's face, because no sooner had she opened her mouth than a long, icy finger was held against her lips.

"I know, Ellie," she said with exaggerated impatience and a roll of her eyes. "No humans."

Esme chuckled from behind her youngest daughter, pressing a kiss to the back of her head.

"Really, Ellie, there is nothing to worry about."

Ellie crossed her arms over her chest. "I know, I know. But this is important to me. No one has to lie today."

In truth, it had been her only real rule. Alice had kept most of the details hidden, but now that the moment was almost upon them, she started to let some of her thoughts slip. Ellie recognized Alice's reassurance that her singular demand would be honored, and her tension began to ease.

Alice placed her hands on her sister's face again, smiling. "That's much better, Ellie. Close your eyes and stay relaxed. Think of something…calming."

After another insistent squeeze from her mother, Ellie rolled her eyes and complied, letting her eyelids slide closed as Alice continued her work. Random memories began to fill her mind as she summoned the strength to shut out the multitude of thoughts that crowded the tiny island.

Hours later, Ellie took a deep breath, focusing her mind on the cool sand between her toes, and the slight ripple of the gauzy lace that gathered around her feet as her dress fluttered gently in the breeze.

She set her breathing to the rhythm of the ebb and flow of the sea waves against the shore, struggling to calm the frantic hammering of her heartbeat that pulsed loudly in her own ears.

Her mind was clouded with the constant murmur of thoughts, and in her ears were the sounds of her family and assorted guests as they chatted and moved to their seats.

Emmett and Jasper were telling dirty jokes, she could hear, and among the quiet swell of laughter in response was one nervous chuckle that made her stomach flip-flop and her heart start racing all over again.

A cool hand rested on her shoulder, and her eyes snapped open. She had to blink a few times for her vision to adjust to the dim twilight that now rested over tiny island. Wondering to herself how long she'd been standing there lost in her own thoughts, she was once again aware of the world around her. Carlisle cleared his throat, offering his arm.

"Are you ready?"

Ellie stared at him for a moment, noting the slight tension around his eyes despite the relaxed smile that illuminated his face. Her eyes flicked to the candle-lit path that would lead them through the dunes, and beyond the thick line of tropical vegetation that shielded them from her awaiting audience.

"Ellie?"

"We're really doing this, huh," she murmured. Soft chords from a guitar suddenly floated by on the wind, and she knew that there was no more time for stalling. When she met his gaze again, Ellie could see the tension around his eyes had deepened.

"Only if you're ready, Ellie."

Ellie closed her eyes and found Christopher's mind, and was at once awash with the desire to be able to soothe away his anxiety. She knew she only had to wait until her hand rested in his. She turned to her father, slipping her arm through his.

"I'm ready, Dad."


End file.
